English

Pakistan came with one demand and departed with verification, guarantors and a timetable; Kabul kept its face, Islamabad kept the substance. A new regional normal now bears Pakistan’s imprint.

Critics insist that Pakistan’s sympathy for Gaza is performative. They are wrong. It is historical, ethical, and intensely practical. War does not stop at borders. It migrates into prices, into power cuts, into classrooms, into the psychology of a young man who has seen too many funerals and too few pay cheques.

India cannot claim the title Pharmacy of the World while children die from poisoned cough syrup. Pride means nothing without transparent regulation, lot-by-lot testing, and accountability from factory floor to cabinet table.

For fifty years Pakistan sheltered millions of Afghans while richer capitals sermonised from afar. If promises are paused in the West, do not scold the neighbour for enforcing its borders; honour your pledges and share the burden.

The Nobel Peace Prize risks turning from conscience into stagecraft when nominees with alleged militant proximities are amplified by friendly institutions, eroding the firewall of secrecy and trust.