I sometimes wonder how the people in our foreign office manage to sleep at night. On one side there is China, on the other America, and now Russia has also entered the picture. Three great powers, three different expectations — and Pakistan standing in the middle, trying to keep everyone happy. Honestly, I think this is one of the most difficult jobs in world politics.
Let me start with China, because for Pakistan, China is like that friend who stood beside you when no one else was willing to. When our country was facing long hours of load-shedding, China came with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — roads, power plants, the Gwadar port. We hear the figure of $62 billion again and again, but I want to be honest here: that is the announced number. What has actually been built so far is closer to $25 billion. Still, more than 8,000 megawatts were added to our grid, and that is not a small thing. But loans are loans — they have to be repaid, and some of them came at high interest rates. There have also been attacks on Chinese workers, which is shameful for us. So yes, China is our closest friend, but even this friendship has its price.
Then there is America — the old friend with whom things are no longer the same. There was a time when American aid and weapons came to Pakistan freely. Today, America is much closer to India. But I do not agree with those who say America has completely abandoned us. The truth is more complicated. Take the FATF grey list: Pakistan was on it from June 2018 to October 2022. Some people say America put us there, but that is not correct — it was a decision of a 39-member international body, and we came out of it after completing 34 action items. And the IMF: we are now in a $7 billion program that started in September 2024. America has influence there, no doubt, but the money comes when we complete our reforms. The painful truth is that we have gone to the IMF more than twenty times. That says something about us, not just about them.
And then there is Russia — the friendship nobody expected. For most of our history, Russia was India's friend and our rival's supporter. But in June 2023, the first ship of discounted Russian oil reached Karachi. It was a proud moment, but let me keep it real: the quantity was small, our ports could not even handle the full ship so it had to be split in Oman, and there were problems with payments. Russia is a useful new option for us, especially for energy. But it is an option — not a replacement for anyone.
So what is Pakistan's actual policy? A friend once described it to me in one line: rent friendships, don't buy them. I think that is exactly what we do. We keep China close for the economy, America engaged for financial survival, and Russia as a backup for energy. And we try not to let any one of them control us.
But then I ask myself the hard question: has this balancing act actually worked? We are sitting at every important table, yes. But our foreign investment fell badly last year, our economy still runs from one bailout to the next, and the world still watches us with suspicion. Balancing has bought us time. It has not bought us strength.
In the end, I have come to believe that real independence does not come from clever diplomacy alone. It comes from a strong economy — from exports, from taxes honestly collected, from reforms that do not die with every new government. Our diplomats have done a remarkable job keeping Pakistan relevant between Beijing, Washington, and Moscow. But diplomacy can only open doors. Walking through them with dignity — that part is up to our economy, and to us.
