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Last week, Pakistan delivered the Trump administration’s 15-point peace plan to Iran.  

This is not the first time an American president has got Islamabad to play a mediating role: in the early 1970s, Richard Nixon had persuaded General Yahya Khan to serve as an intermediary between Washington and Beijing with a view to the official recognition of the People’s Republic of China, which took place shortly after a visit to the Chinese capital by Henry Kissinger—who was supposedly ill in Islamabad while Khan was introducing him to Mao Zedong.

Why is Pakistan going along with this? Because it has more to gain than to lose.

First, helping Trump – as it intended to do last year regarding the deployment of Pakistani troops to Gaza, which was ultimately rejected by Israel – is a way to cultivate the White House’s trust, which has already manifested itself in the resumption of military cooperation in exchange for rare earth minerals from Balochistan and an agreement on cryptocurrencies. Strengthening ties with the United States thus allows Pakistan to somewhat emancipate itself from its immense dependence on China and to reconnect with a country that was, throughout the Cold War – and again after 9/11, for nearly 15 years – a very generous partner, particularly in waging the war in Afghanistan, first against the Soviets and then against the Taliban: Islamabad may even hope for a return to the........

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