PAKISTAN’S diplomatic graph has risen once again, acting as a conduit between the United States and Iran, nudging both protagonists toward the negotiation table in hopes of ending war.

History reminds us that this is not the first time Pakistan has played such a role. From the earliest years of independence, its foreign policy has been marked by bold acts of solidarity and mediation—undertaken at great risk, yet always with moral clarity.

In the 1950s, as North Africa struggled under French colonialism, Pakistan emerged as a champion of liberation. When Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian leaders were barred from international travel, Pakistan issued them diplomatic passports, enabling them to plead their case before the United Nations and the wider world. In 1952, Morocco’s Sultan Muhammad-V dispatched Ahmad Balafrej to speak at the UN Security Council. His voice was silenced because Morocco remained a French colony. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Sir Zafarullah Khan, intervened decisively. At midnight, Pakistan’s mission in Washington DC issued Balafrej a Pakistani diplomatic passport, enabling him to passionately present Morocco’s case for freedom.

Among others who benefited in subsequent years was Ahmed Ben Bella, who later became Algeria’s first president. Pakistan’s recognition of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic in 1958—four years before Algeria gained independence—and the opening of its diplomatic mission in Karachi marked a bold act of defiance against........

© Pakistan Observer