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Opinion | How Pakistan’s rising confidence could shape a cooperative South Asia
If Gulf investment, Chinese strategic interest and Pakistani willingness align, the region could shift from confrontation to collaboration
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At the Islamabad Conclave earlier this month, Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, urged a rethink of how South Asia approaches security, trade, climate and connectivity. He called for practical cooperation, disaster response mechanisms and economic integration rather than allowing old rivalries to dictate every interaction.
This reimagined vision for South Asia seems to have emerged from a renewed confidence in Pakistan given that the country has recently achieved a measure of political stability, economic stabilisation and foreign policy recalibration.
Recent political developments suggest a clearer, if contested, pattern of stability. Former prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced in January to 14 years in prison in a land-corruption case. The main opposition party he leads, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was effectively stripped of its electoral symbol, and its ability to contest elections was severely curtailed by the authorities, reducing its capacity to organise and contest.
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After the February 2024 general election, a coalition government under Shehbaz Sharif formed the administration, relegating PTI to the margins. These developments have helped create an environment where politics is being routinised under the dominance of a narrower set of actors, creating space for state decision-making oriented towards stability rather than disruption.
On the macroeconomic front, there are concrete signs of stabilisation. Pakistan’s economy crossed the US$400 billion mark, reaching around US$411 billion in nominal gross domestic product this financial year. At the same time, inflation has cooled markedly after years of sharp increases, falling to a historic low of 0.3 per cent in April and contributing to a more predictable macroeconomic environment.
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Fiscal performance has improved as the government recorded a primary surplus of 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2025. External sector indicators also show some resilience, as foreign exchange reserves have been rebuilt while external funding – including support under programmes with the International Monetary Fund – has helped stabilise the balance of payments.
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