Pakistan after 2025: strength without trust |
Pakistan enters a new year carrying the institutional imprint of 2025 — strategic vibrancy, diplomatic relevance, but institutional decay and trust deficit. Year 2025 was not a year of dramatic rupture, nor one of decisive renewal. Rather, it consolidated a governing logic that has become increasingly familiar — effective in imposing order, less successful in building trust. This logic may have short-term dividends but undoubtedly long-term disastrous consequences.
In the domain of external security, the year ended on a note of confidence. Deterrence remained credible, response capacity was clear, and strategic signalling left little ambiguity for adversaries. In its brief but dangerous escalation with India, Pakistan demonstrated that it could protect its territorial and strategic interests with speed and coordination. This competence translated into a sense of institutional assurance within the state and earned it global recognition.
Internationally as well, Pakistan closed 2025 with a profile that exceeded earlier expectations. Despite economic fragility and political turbulence, the country remained diplomatically engaged and strategically relevant. Managing competing regional pressures while........