Asif Mahmood 

This is the third joy that has descended as if it were a commentary on Surah Ar-Rahman: “So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” The first joy had descended years ago. We had just reached the hostel from the university bus when we learned that Pakistan had conducted nuclear tests. After that, nothing else mattered. We lost track of where our books went and where we ourselves wandered off. The hostel was in Blue Area, and everyone started moving toward D-Chowk. A huge crowd had already gathered there. Much time has passed, so some things I remember and some I have forgotten. But I have not forgotten that it was a day of Eid. It was a joy that even today remains part of my being. It has never left me. The second joy descended a few months ago when Pakistan, in Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos, demolished the entire edifice of Hindutva fascism. What a joy it was. What an ecstasy. It was a new Pakistan that we were witnessing. There had always been a wish in the heart that such a moment might one day come to us, but looking at ground realities, it did not seem that this wish would be fulfilled in our lifetime. This sense of futility clung to our existence that perhaps we would pass this longing on to the next generation, and maybe such a moment would descend upon them and grant them fulfillment. But this moment came to us. Like answered prayers, it filled us with exhilaration. Such a moment had never before descended upon this land. In a single watch of the day, the entire image of Pakistan had changed. It felt like a dream, as if one dozes off in a desert and sees lush green fields in a dream. As if one sits beside a dry well and suddenly springs begin to gush forth. The Field Marshal had said: in this war, the help of Allah descended, and we witnessed it descend. He was the commander on the battlefield, but the truth is that even we, sitting in our homes, felt the descent of divine help. This moment too felt like a reflection of Surah Rahman: “So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” Now the third joy has descended. It has come like rain over barren deserts, like relief to a sick person. At this moment, across the world, Pakistan is being praised. The ceasefire between Iran and the United States is an extraordinary diplomatic success for Pakistan. If Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos was the day of Pakistan’s military triumph, then this ceasefire is the declaration of its diplomatic victory. Now only the test of the economy remains. If that stage too is passed with success, then Pakistan’s future will be like the galaxies. This economic challenge is certainly not easy, but then which of the previous three challenges were easy? The Lord who granted success there may well grant success in the economic sphere too. In this conflict, Pakistan’s diplomatic principles were put to a severe test, and Pakistan emerged successful. For both Iran and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan stood as a source of goodwill. It had nothing but goodwill to offer. The circumstances, however, were extremely difficult. There were also people who were leveling all kinds of accusations against Pakistan and threatening the state. Some accused Pakistan of duplicity. But this was not duplicity. It was goodwill for all. Some elements, however, failed to understand this. It may have been due to ill intent or ignorance. What is being written in India and Israel about this ceasefire is worth noting. I was reading a tweet by Yair Lapid, a former Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister of Israel. He wrote that in Israel’s entire history, there has never been such a politically disastrous event as this ceasefire. No one even spoke to them during the ceasefire, nor were they consulted, nor were they part of the negotiations. In India too, there is similar frustration. Those who until yesterday taunted us that Pakistan had become isolated in the world are now bewildered, asking how this happened, what Pakistan has done. In South Asia, Pakistan had already shown India its strength, and now it has begun to play a credible role in Middle Eastern politics as well. I had initially thought of collecting tweets filled with frustration from India and reproducing them here, but then realized this is not material for just one column. There is an atmosphere of mourning there. One does not know which tweet to pick and which to leave. They are busy hurling abuses at one another. The same state of agitation is visible everywhere. There is a long list of Western intellectuals and politicians praising Pakistan’s role. Pakistan is the only country that can speak both to Iran and Saudi Arabia, both to China and the United States. Pakistan handled even the UAE loan matter with great responsibility and grace, conveying its point without damaging the delicate fabric of mutual respect. Now the message has spread far and wide. Pakistan has entered a new era. A highly responsible nuclear state. A state that is asserting itself not only in South Asia but also in the Middle East, and beyond that, across the world. Paolo Gentiloni, the former Prime Minister of Italy, has said that Pakistan should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan has played an extraordinary role in preventing a third world war. It has thwarted the conspiracy of war between two brotherly Muslim countries. It has saved the global economy from collapse. Praise be to Allah.