Post-9/11 Foreign Policy of Pakistan: CSS Solved Answer

Exam question: CSS 2016, Q6: Write note on the post 9/11 foreign policy of Pakistan. What role do you foresee for Pakistan in regional and global politics in the near future?

Syllabus topic: Topic XIV of the CSS Pakistan Affairs syllabus.

Short answer

Outline for quick revision

Introduction
Determinants of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy
Phases of Post-9/11 Foreign Policy: 2001-2008: the frontline ally; 2008-2018: strains with the US, pivot to China; 2018-2024: geo-economics and the Afghan endgame; 2025-2026: an assertive, multi-aligned Pakistan
Assessment of Post-9/11 Foreign Policy: Achievements; Failures and costs; The missing link: internal strength
Pakistan’s Future Role in Regional and Global Politics: A bridge between great powers; A mediator in the Muslim world; A connectivity and energy hub; A voice of climate-vulnerable states; Conditions for this role
Conclusion

Reference colours:
Quotation / documentPersonality / historySyllabus bookCurrent referenceOfficial report / policy

1. Introduction

The attacks of 11 September 2001 transformed Pakistan’s foreign policy overnight. A country under sanctions and diplomatic isolation became a frontline ally of the United States, and for the next two decades its foreign relations were shaped by the war in Afghanistan, rivalry with India and an ever-closer partnership with China.

The question has two parts, a note on post-9/11 policy and Pakistan’s future role, so this answer first traces the phases of policy and assesses them, then looks ahead. The argument is that Pakistan has moved from security-driven alignment with one power towards multi-alignment and geo-economics; its future role as a bridge, mediator and connectivity hub depends on economic strength and internal stability.

“Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all the nations of the world. We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation.”
Quaid-i-Azam, broadcast to the people of the USA, February 1948

2. Determinants of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy

Pakistan’s foreign policy is shaped by a few constant factors: the security threat from a much larger India and the unresolved Kashmir dispute; a long, unstable border with Afghanistan; its geography at the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia; its identity as a Muslim state with strong ties to the Gulf; a weak economy dependent on external finance; and a strong role for the military in security policy.

3. Phases of Post-9/11 Foreign Policy

2001-2008: the frontline ally

Musharraf’s U-turn put Pakistan in the US-led coalition, bringing sanctions relief, aid and the status of a “major non-NATO ally” (2004). At the same time Pakistan pursued a composite dialogue with India (2004-2008), which produced the Line of Control ceasefire (2003) and a cross-LoC bus service.

“Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
US President George W. Bush, address to Congress, 20 September 2001

2008-2018: strains with the US, pivot to China

Drone strikes, the Raymond Davis affair, Abbottabad and Salala (2011) took US relations to their lowest point. Pakistan responded by deepening ties with China, launching CPEC in 2015, and opening to Russia, which lifted its arms embargo in 2014 and held its first joint exercise with Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan became a full member of the SCO in 2017.

Personality / history: In April 2015, Pakistan’s Parliament unanimously resolved that Pakistan should stay neutral in the Yemen conflict, declining Saudi Arabia’s request for troops, an example of foreign policy decided through parliamentary consensus.

2018-2024: geo-economics and the Afghan endgame

Pakistan facilitated the US-Taliban talks that ended America’s war, while India-Pakistan relations collapsed after Pulwama-Balakot (February 2019) and India’s revocation of Kashmir’s special status (August 2019). Pakistan’s first National Security Policy announced a shift towards economic security.

Official report / policy: Pakistan’s first National Security Policy (2022-2026), launched in January 2022, puts economic security at the core of national security and calls for a shift from geopolitics to geo-economics, using Pakistan’s location for connectivity and trade.

2025-2026: an assertive, multi-aligned Pakistan

The military response to India in May 2025 and the quick ceasefire raised Pakistan’s standing; relations with the US under Trump warmed sharply, a mutual defence pact was signed with Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan became the main mediator in the 2026 US-Iran war while serving on the UN Security Council.

Current reference: In May 2025, after Indian strikes on 7 May, Pakistan responded with Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos on 10 May, and a ceasefire was announced the same day. The civil and military leadership acted in unison, military response, diplomacy and information campaign together, and General Asim Munir was promoted to Field Marshal on 20 May 2025.

Current reference: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement on 17 September 2025 (“any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”); on 7 August 2026, Turkey joined them in the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.

Current reference: After the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February 2026 and Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistan brokered a ceasefire and hosted the Islamabad Talks (11-12 April 2026), the first direct US-Iran talks in decades, with US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s speaker Ghalibaf; in June the Islamabad Memorandum was signed, though it broke down within about a month and Pakistan remained the main mediator.

4. Assessment of Post-9/11 Foreign Policy

Achievements

Pakistan avoided isolation after 9/11, turned China into its most important economic and strategic partner, kept its nuclear deterrent secure, broadened ties with Russia, Central Asia and the Gulf, and has regained diplomatic weight with both Washington and Beijing at the same time, a rare achievement in a polarised world.

Failures and costs

Policy was often reactive and dependent on outside powers; the war on terror brought militancy home; relations with India and Afghanistan remain hostile; and international perceptions of a “double game” damaged credibility. A weak economy forced repeated dependence on the IMF and friendly countries.

Syllabus book: Bruce Riedel, Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad (2011), argues that the US-Pakistan relationship of the Afghan jihad of the 1980s fed the growth of the jihadist networks that now threaten both.

The missing link: internal strength

Diplomacy has often been ahead of the economy. A state that repeatedly needs bailouts cannot fully convert its strategic importance into lasting influence.

Current reference: Pakistan’s current $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (37 months, approved September 2024), with a $1.4 billion climate Resilience and Sustainability Facility, is its latest of more than twenty IMF programmes since 1958. On 8 October 2026 the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on the fourth review, unlocking about $1.2 billion (total disbursed about $5.7 billion), on conditions including a primary surplus of 2% of GDP, tax reform, phasing out fuel subsidies, timely energy tariff adjustments, privatisation, a tight monetary policy and a flexible exchange rate.

5. Pakistan’s Future Role in Regional and Global Politics

A bridge between great powers

Pakistan is one of the few states trusted by both the US and China. If it avoids joining blocs, it can act as a bridge between them, as it did between Washington and Beijing in 1971.

Personality / history: In July 1971, Henry Kissinger flew secretly from Islamabad to Beijing, using Pakistan as the bridge that opened US-China relations, the first great example of Pakistan’s value as a diplomatic crossroads.

A mediator in the Muslim world

Its role in the US-Iran talks, its defence pacts with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and its membership of the Gaza Board of Peace give Pakistan the chance to be a stabilising mediator in the Middle East.

Current reference: In January 2026, Pakistan joined US President Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza along with seven other Muslim countries, and it serves on the UN Security Council (2025-26), signs of renewed diplomatic weight.

A connectivity and energy hub

Through CPEC, Gwadar and the trans-Afghan railway, Pakistan can link China and Central Asia to the Arabian Sea, but only if Afghanistan stabilises and Balochistan is secure.

Current reference: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan signed a framework agreement in Kabul on 17 July 2025 for the feasibility study of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) railway, which would link Central Asia to Pakistan’s ports.

Four phases of post-9/11 foreign policy

2001-08: frontline ally, India dialogue
2008-18: US strains, CPEC, Russia, SCO
2018-24: geo-economics, Afghan endgame
2025-26: assertive, multi-aligned, mediator

As a nuclear state and a leading UN peacekeeping contributor, Pakistan can promote strategic stability in South Asia and contribute to global peace operations.

A voice of climate-vulnerable states

Having led the push for the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, Pakistan can speak for developing countries on climate justice and finance.

Conditions for this role

Economic recovery, political stability, success against terrorism and a peaceful neighbourhood are the preconditions. Without them, Pakistan’s geography will continue to attract attention in crises but not lasting partnerships.

Syllabus book: Stephen P. Cohen et al., The Future of Pakistan (2011), argue that Pakistan is most likely to “muddle through”, and identify demography, the economy, militancy and the civil-military balance as the variables that will decide its future.

6. Conclusion

Since 9/11, Pakistan’s foreign policy has travelled from dependence on a single superpower to a more balanced, multi-aligned posture, close to China, re-engaged with the United States, anchored in the Gulf and active in the SCO and the UN. Its successes are real, but so are its costs: militancy at home, hostile neighbours and economic dependence. In the near future Pakistan can be a bridge, a mediator and a hub of connectivity; whether it plays that role will depend less on its geography than on its economy, stability and the consistency of its policies, and on the founding principle of friendship towards all.

Post-9/11 Foreign Policy of Pakistan: CSS 2016 Solved Answer