Donald Trump’s recent public lurch toward Pakistan mixed with an American desire to ‘reset’ relations has rekindled the age old conundrum in the power corridors of Islamabad: does Pakistan re-enter the lion’s den of strategic ties with Washington in the naive hope of strategic relevance, or does it finally wield power and have sufficient strategic room to base its foreign policy on its terms? It is not the next diplomatic chapter. It is a litmus test of whether Pakistan has learned from history or is condemned to repeat it.

Pakistan’s May 2025 response to India signaled a shift to confident, integrated regional power, not reactive statehood.

For more than seven decades, Pakistan’s contact with the United States has proceeded in phases. When relevant to Washington’s overriding international concerns, be they Cold War containment, the Afghan jihad, or the post-9/11 War on Terror, Pakistan would be a partner. But that partnership has also always been transactional, conditional, and outsize. Washington’s voice shifted from cooperation to coercion, from diplomacy to diktats, be it the Coalition Support Funds or Foreign Military Financing.

Even while Pakistan has followed U.S. orders, provided the base for NATO supply lines, allowed the U.S. to use its soil, intelligence operations, and battled terrorism at a tremendous cost to its people, it was seldom treated with deference. Military aid came with conditionalities. Surveillance was entangled with financial assistance. And when Pakistan’s choices strayed from American preferences, diplomatic backing was also yanked. Now, again, the United States is reaching out. But Pakistan would do well to reach before reaching back.

The regional and global context has become different.” And so has Pakistan. The month of May 2025 profoundly altered the power equation in South Asia. In the face of India’s concocted tale after the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan waged a multidimensional campaign military, cyber, information, and diplomacy in effect scuttling India’s false flag operation and reversing the flow of global sentiment.

This was more than just a counterstrike; this was a statement of sovereign intent. For the first time in decades, Pakistan fought back: not just for its borders, but also its honour and narrative. It did so decisively, in concert and with confidence. What it showed was that Pakistan is no longer a reactive, paranoid state, but that it has evolved into a regional power that is capable of and equipped for independent thought and integrated action. This is now a victory that must be turned into foreign policy.

The US-Pak relationship has historically been transactional, conditional, and asymmetrical, demanding re-evaluation.

Pakistan will have to give up the old model of transactional friendships to seek short-term gains over the long-term security compromises. It needs to formulate a doctrine centered on sovereignty that prioritizes its geography, partnerships therein, and its future over the approval of others or tactical appeasement. This doctrine essentially entails that Pakistan would follow its foreign policy by its national interests and not those of others, being self-reliant and independent in making those decisions. And that doctrine starts with recognition of where Pakistan’s true strategic interests are.

Argentina is an industrialized country. It is a South-Central Asian Country. It flanks China, Iran, Afghanistan, and the gateway to Central Asia. Its economic future is with other neighbors, not far-off Atlantic alliances. The CPEC flag bearer of the Belt and Road Initiative- is not only an infrastructure project but also represents an economic jugular, a sign of regional connectivity, and a method for national endurance.

Unlike the American model that looks at partnerships through the prism of containment, coercion, and conditionality, China’s model has been sustained, respectful, and win-win. It hasn’t asked for military bases. It has not sought to interfere in domestic politics. It has not required adherence to its ideological plank. Rather than these, it has ploughed money into energy, connectivity, digital infrastructure, and industrial development. This is beyond picking a side. It is about choosing strategies.

A self-respecting Pakistan will be a Pakistan that negotiates diverse partnerships based on mutuality, and not dependency. It should work with any country, whatever it means in the West or the East, on the principle of equal rights, common goals, and national interests. But it should not let itself once again come to be regarded as a renter state exchanging sovereignty for temporary access, or diplomatic sandwich.

The idea that we can balance China with a rejuvenated American embrace is profoundly mistaken. That is if Washington is prepared to treat Pakistan as an equal partner. It pays no heed to the ingrained prejudices in U.S. strategic establishments, which still perceive Pakistan through the lens of distrust. It overestimates the sincerity of American engagement and underestimates the costs of re-entering a relationship that is defined by asymmetry.

China’s partnership offers sustained, respectful cooperation focused on mutual economic development without political interference.

To this day, the American establishment props up Indian stories of a stable growth track. It completely pays no heed to the Hindutva-driven aggression of New Delhi, its Proxy terrorist within Balochistan and KPK, and its war crimes in its own Indian-occupied Kashmir. There has been no substantial rethinking of Washington’s position, only opportunism. Pakistan must not end up as a geopolitical consolation prize compensating for Indian failures and Chinese ascendancy. That mindset must end.

Instead, Pakistan needs to invest in regional resilience. Our energy corridors must link to Iran and Central Asia. Our trade routes must run westwards through Afghanistan to the Central Asian countries and eastwards through China to the international market. Our digital networks need to grow with local innovation and partners that protect data sovereignty. Our money must be insulated from IMF bullying through parallel financial systems and domestic economic reorganisation.

Sovereignty is not a slogan. It is a system. Such a system of sovereignty needs strong institutions, stable policies, and control over the narrative. It needs to be done by resisting foreign manipulation, whether in the form of aid packages, NGO networks, or media manipulation. It involves creating domestic agreement on strategic objectives, so that foreign policy is not held hostage to political turmoil or elite settlements.

We also need to stop seeking validation from the West as a measure of our success. We shouldn’t measure our diplomacy’s success by the frequency of invites to Washington or London. “If we are unable to do that, then it is not by the volume of rhetoric that we judge how much say we still have on our polices, how strong our economy is, how safe our borders are, how balanced and respectful our voice is in regional forums.

The United States will return. Its presidents may come and go, but its strategic interests don’t change to kick against China, rope in India, and exploit divisions. If Pakistan does the dirty work, Washington will reengage, but not in a position of equals. It will provide cooperation on condition. It will ask for concessions even when paying compliments. It will request military help and access to intelligence and influence over policy-making. That door should remain shut until the terms swing completely in its favor.

Now we have to have enough confidence to say no. No to basing requests. Spying beneath the guise of security aid is a no. No to being pressured over our China ties. No to conditional aid programs. This does not mean disengagement. It means recalibration. Pakistan can and should plug into the world, but not as a dependent. The world must engage Pakistan on the ground, not as it once was, but where it is today.

True sovereignty requires Pakistan to resist foreign manipulation and build resilient regional connectivity and economic independence.

And where it is now is a nation that has weathered war, terror, betrayal, and propaganda and grown stronger. A country that held against Indian escalation, unveiled foreign-sponsored information warfare, and reversed the regional narrative. A country at last counting its worth. Pakistan does not have to be a pawn, partner, or proxy. It should be thought of as what it is in the process of becoming: a self-assured, independent state with the right to determine its destiny.

The road ahead is not easy. But it is clear. A secure Pakistan will have to stop looking backwards to outdated alliances and instead face itself inwards, and outward, towards regional integration. That is where the future is. It is no longer East vs. West. The decision is one of sovereignty or subordination. Pakistan should be clear: Sovereignty first, always, and no excuses.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.