Pakistan at the Center: A Year of Change at Home and Abroad for Islamabad

Pakistan has once again made global headlines, this time for facilitating U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad. This has been an unexpectedly momentous year for Pakistan in other ways as well: an open war with Afghanistan, a crisis with India, and warming ties with the United States. Pakistan is engaged in remarkable feats of diplomatic juggling: Between its neighbor in Iran and its longstanding security and economic partner in Saudi Arabia; between the competing influence of Beijing and Washington; between the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants that threaten Pakistan’s stability. All the while, Pakistan grapples with political and economic challenges at home, even as its civilian and military leadership project a united front. This virtual event will convene a panel of Stimson experts to examine Pakistan’s domestic developments alongside its relations with regional neighbors like Afghanistan, China, India, and Iran. The discussion will focus on how these complicated and rapidly changing ties fit into the broader strategic framework of the U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relationship, and it will offer insights into what lies ahead, including in Pakistan’s role facilitating talks on the Middle East conflict.