American political scientist Josh Nye originally used the phrase “soft power” in 1990 in his book ‘Bound to Lead: The changing nature of soft power’, which mentioned soft power as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion.”. After that policymakers across the globe started to inculcate the notion of soft power viz-a-viz hard power to ensure state security from external and internal vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s policy seems to lean more toward the traditional power due to the prevailing regional and global security turmoil since its inception. The 9/11 attack has further deteriorated Pakistan’s position: the international community stigmatized Pakistan as a terrorist state. Subsequently, an amalgamation of both soft and hard power, known as “smart power” became inevitable for Pakistan to counter the prevailing narrative about the state.

Pakistan’s geographical location poses a serious risk to both internal and external security, as extremism and terrorism have caused political and economic instability. India is posing security threats, with Kashmir being a major source of disagreement. The US-India alliances have also been deemed a significant challenge in the past, and their technological advancement has exacerbated the risks by opening novel warfronts, such as cyber-attacks. Over the years, India has supported multiple insurgencies against Pakistan, which resulted in the division of Pakistan in 1971. The........

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