Mediation claims amid cross-border terrorism puts Pakistan's dual narrative under scrutiny

Tel Aviv, April 18 (IANS) As the one-year anniversary of the heinous Pahalgam terror attack approaches, Pakistan appears to be engaged in a familiar double narrative, a report said on Saturday.

Writing for the 'Times of Israel', Sergio Restelli, an Italian political advisor, author and geopolitical expert said that on one front, Pakistan presents itself as a responsible mediator in one of the Middle East’s most dangerous crisis, seeking to facilitate dialogue between Iran and the United States. On another, he said Pakistan is mired in the unresolved shadow of cross-border terrorism in Kashmir, where India holds it responsible for the 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam—making the contradiction structural.

The expert noted that Pakistan has long relied on mediation as a means of sustaining diplomatic relevance, especially at times of weakening regional standing.

“The logic is straightforward. By inserting itself into a crisis beyond its immediate geography, Islamabad attempts to reframe its global image from that of a security problem to that of a solution provider. But this strategy repeatedly collides with the country’s internal contradictions,” Restelli stressed.

With the Pahalgam terror attack anniversary approaching, he said, the issue is credibility rather than attribution.

Restelli further stated that Pakistan, repeatedly accused of tolerating or enabling non-state actors, cannot claim the moral authority to mediate conflicts elsewhere — with the contradiction too significant to ignore.

“This is where Pakistan’s internal dynamics become decisive. The country’s foreign policy is not driven solely by its civilian leadership but is deeply shaped by its military establishment. The same institution that now projects itself as a peacemaker abroad has historically pursued asymmetric strategies in its immediate neighbourhood. That duality is not accidental. It reflects a security doctrine that distinguishes between theatres rather than applying a consistent principle,” he mentioned.

Highlighting the Iran case, Restelli said Pakistan seeks stability, as a wider regional war would threaten its borders, energy security, and already fragile economy. In Kashmir, however, he said instability has often been viewed as leverage resulting in a foreign policy that is “situational" rather than “principled adaptive and coherent".

Condemning Islamabad's contradictory approach, the expert said, “In the end, Pakistan is not an unlikely peacemaker. It is a predictable one. A state that mediates where it must and destabilises where it can. That is not diplomacy. That is strategy under constraint.”

--IANS

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