Pakistan’s foreign policy is facing an unusual test.
Islamabad is simultaneously trying to maintain relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran, participate in regional security arrangements, facilitate dialogue surrounding the US-Iran conflict, manage increasingly difficult relations with Afghanistan and project itself as a responsible regional diplomatic actor.
At the same time, Pakistan is confronting terrorism, political polarization, economic vulnerabilities and persistent governance challenges.
That does not necessarily make its diplomatic efforts contradictory. But it does expose a fundamental question: how much international influence can a state sustain when its domestic security and economic foundations remain under pressure?
The answer will determine whether Pakistan’s current diplomatic activism develops into durable strategic influence or remains dependent on individual crises and relationships.
Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement in the Middle East has expanded significantly during 2026.
The Foreign Ministry says Islamabad has been engaged in efforts involving the United States and Iran and has supported dialogue, restraint and diplomatic channels. Pakistan has also participated in the implementation process surrounding the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
That role has given Pakistan an opportunity to demonstrate that its geographic position and relationships with competing regional actors can be converted into diplomatic leverage.
Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is another important component.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in August 2026, provides that an armed attack against one of the three countries is to be regarded as an attack against all, consistent with the parties’ stated interpretation of collective self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry describes the accord as defensive in nature.
The arrangement therefore adds another layer to Pakistan’s regional strategic calculations.
Islamabad simultaneously maintains diplomatic relations with Iran, has a defence relationship with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, and remains engaged with the United States.
That balancing act is becoming increasingly complicated.
“International influence is most durable when it is supported by domestic resilience.”
Pakistan’s geographic position means that instability in the Gulf is not simply a foreign-policy problem.
It is also an economic problem.
Pakistan relies heavily on imported energy, while disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and other regional maritime routes can affect petroleum prices, LNG availability, shipping costs and the country’s external balance.
Reuters reported in September that the Gulf crisis was already contributing to energy pressures in Pakistan and that the government had introduced measures aimed at conserving fuel.
This demonstrates an important reality:
For Pakistan, foreign policy and economic policy increasingly overlap.
A diplomatic development in the Gulf can quickly become an inflation issue. A disruption in maritime trade can become a balance-of-payments issue. A regional military escalation can become an energy-security issue.
Consequently, Pakistan’s foreign-policy calculations cannot be separated from economic resilience.
The economic picture is more nuanced than simply describing Pakistan as economically weak.
The IMF’s May 2026 review said Pakistan’s economic program had maintained macroeconomic stability and improved financing and external conditions. The Fund also reported continued progress in rebuilding reserves. At the same time, it emphasized structural reforms involving public finances, productivity, competition, state-owned enterprises, social protection, human capital and energy-sector viability.
The World Bank has similarly emphasized structural weaknesses in Pakistan’s fiscal system, particularly revenue mobilization, fiscal discipline and the quality of public services across different levels of government.
This distinction matters.
Economic stabilization is not the same thing as economic transformation.
Pakistan can stabilize its external accounts and still face longer-term problems involving productivity, taxation, energy, exports, employment and public-sector performance.
For foreign policy, the difference is critical.
A country with stronger exports, deeper reserves, lower energy vulnerability and predictable institutions possesses greater freedom in dealing with external powers.
Pakistan’s diplomatic ambitions are unfolding while the country’s western security environment remains difficult.
The Global Terrorism Index 2026 ranked Pakistan as the country most affected by terrorism in 2025, recording 1,139 deaths and 1,045 terrorist incidents. More than 74 percent of terrorist attacks and 67 percent of terrorism deaths recorded in Pakistan during 2025 occurred in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Those numbers illustrate why internal security cannot be treated as a separate policy compartment.
The recent attack in Kohat provided another reminder.
The attack on a police compound and mosque in September resulted in at least 21 deaths and more than 100 injuries according to subsequent Associated Press reporting. Six militants were killed during the security operation.
Six Pakistani soldiers were also killed in a roadside bombing in Hangu during the same period, according to AP reporting.
These incidents are important not simply because of their human cost but because they demonstrate the continuing security pressures confronting the state in KP.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship may ultimately prove one of the most important tests of Islamabad’s foreign policy.
Pakistan argues that militant groups operating from Afghan territory pose a security threat. Afghan authorities have rejected Pakistani accusations concerning militant sanctuaries.
The disagreement has increasingly produced military consequences.
On September 21, Pakistan reported airstrikes against militant targets in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan authorities reported civilian deaths, while the United Nations also confirmed civilian casualties.
The diplomatic problem is obvious.
Pakistan wants Afghanistan to prevent attacks against Pakistani territory. Afghanistan insists on its sovereignty and rejects accusations that it deliberately facilitates attacks.
Military action may address individual targets, but it does not by itself create a durable bilateral security mechanism.
The UN has repeatedly called on Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve differences through diplomacy and protect civilians.
For Islamabad, the long-term objective therefore has to extend beyond retaliation.
It requires a framework combining border management, intelligence cooperation, counterterrorism, trade, refugee policy and sustained diplomatic engagement.
Balochistan presents an even more complex challenge because security, economics, governance and geopolitics intersect there.
The province contains strategically important coastline, borders Iran and Afghanistan, and is central to Pakistan’s western connectivity and economic ambitions.
The Global Terrorism Index identifies Balochistan and KP as the principal centres of terrorism in Pakistan. It also records continued militant attacks against infrastructure and Chinese interests.
That makes the province relevant not only to domestic security but also to Pakistan’s relations with China, Iran, Gulf countries and international investors.
A sustainable strategy therefore requires more than counterterrorism operations.
Economic participation, effective local administration, infrastructure, political representation and public confidence all affect the state’s ability to maintain long-term stability.
Foreign policy is often discussed as though it begins at the foreign ministry.
In reality, external credibility is affected by domestic institutions.
Political polarization can make long-term policy commitments more difficult. Institutional confrontation can complicate coordination. Economic uncertainty can discourage investment. Internal unrest can consume security resources that might otherwise be available for external challenges.
This does not mean that a country must have complete political consensus before pursuing an active foreign policy.
No modern state operates under such conditions.
But foreign-policy influence becomes more sustainable when major institutions can maintain policy continuity beyond individual political cycles.
There is another opportunity that receives less attention.
Pakistan’s diplomatic relationships should increasingly be converted into economic outcomes.
Meetings at international summits can be useful, but their strategic value ultimately depends on what follows.
That means:
Pakistan’s recent engagement with the European Union illustrates this direction. During the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed Pakistan-EU relations and specifically highlighted GSP Plus, trade, investment and economic development.
This is where diplomacy can become measurable economic policy.
Pakistan’s current diplomatic activity should therefore not be measured simply by the number of foreign visits, meetings or international headlines.
A more meaningful assessment would ask:
Can diplomacy reduce security risks?
Can it protect Pakistan’s energy supplies?
Can it expand exports and investment?
Can it improve relations with neighbouring states?
Can it prevent Pakistan from becoming directly involved in regional wars?
Can international partnerships strengthen rather than substitute for domestic economic reform?
These are harder questions than counting diplomatic engagements, but they are more important.
Pakistan’s diplomatic role in the US-Iran crisis has demonstrated that Islamabad can potentially serve as a channel between actors with competing interests. The Foreign Ministry has described its efforts as part of a broader diplomatic process involving dialogue and de-escalation.
But mediation also carries risks.
The mediator must maintain credibility with all sides. It must avoid becoming a party to the conflict. And it must have enough domestic stability and institutional capacity to sustain a long diplomatic process.
Pakistan therefore faces two connected policy challenges.
The first is external: managing relations with the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Türkiye, Afghanistan and other regional partners while avoiding entanglement in conflicts that could damage its interests.
The second is internal: strengthening economic resilience, reducing terrorism, improving governance and maintaining political and institutional stability.
The two challenges cannot be separated indefinitely.
A country with strong institutions, a resilient economy and secure borders has more diplomatic choices.
A country facing simultaneous economic, political and security pressures has fewer.
Pakistan’s present diplomatic activism is consequently more than a foreign-policy story. It is a test of whether the country can translate geography, relationships and diplomatic access into durable strategic and economic advantages.
The coming period will show whether Islamabad can maintain its role as a diplomatic bridge while simultaneously addressing the pressures inside its own borders.
The central lesson is straightforward: international influence is most durable when it is supported by domestic resilience.
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