From Pakistan’s perspective, 2025 was a game-changer as it marked a turning point in the nation’s 78 year history, reshaping its image not only as a rising regional power, but also as emerging key player on the global stage.
Though today, Pakistan is considered a middle power, the current global shift towards a multipolar world order is influencing Pakistan’s strategic approach. While a middle power reflects a country’s relative strength, a smart power is about expanding its influence. As a Chief of Defence Forces and the COAS, Field Marshal Asim Munir is committed to fostering a national strategy based on 3 Ds of the smart power doctrine: the country’s defence, diplomacy and development, transforming Pakistan’s global image from a middle power to a smart power. This vision is significantly underscored by Pak expanding ties with other states while signing high-profile security and defence agreements in 2025.
Phenomenally, the year 2025 built Pakistan’s auspicious image in the comity of nations. And above all, Pakistan achieved a glorious victory through Marka-e-Haq against India (May7-10). Needless to say, Field Marshal Asim Munir’s strategic vision profoundly aims to transform the status of this country from a middle power to smart power. Pak CDF Gen Asim Munir’s smart power doctrine is a beacon of strategic pragmatism. Emphasizing a blend of hard and soft power, this doctrine prioritizes economic resilience and regional connectivity while leveraging Pakistan’s geostrategic location. By focusing on a tech-driven governance, counterterrorism prowess and diplomatic discourse, Field Marshal Munir aims to amplify Pak influence in changing global order.
True, this strategic pivot is a response to the evolving global landscape, marked by a transition to a multipolar world order and the need to diversify partnerships and boost economic growth. The nation is expanding its diplomatic network beyond traditional Western allies, fostering stronger ties with rising economies and non-traditional partners in the Middle East and Central Asian Republics. This strategy aims to broaden its diplomatic balancing approach without relying exclusively on any single power.This approach underscores a shift towards smart, adaptive strategies over traditional policies. The June-2025 meeting between President Trump and Field Marshal Asim Munir marked a significant milestone in US-Pakistan relationship.
Today, Pakistan is transitioning from its traditional role –as a middle-tier regional player to a smart power–involving the strategic use of both approaches: coercion (hard power) and persuasion (soft power). For Pakistan, this means combining its established military strength and nuclear status with diplomatic agility, economic connectivity and cultural influence. Pakistan military has also reshaped its command evolution structure in accordance with significant needs of modern warfare, including multi-domain and amphibious warfare. Also, the dual focus on economic facilitation and technological advancement underscores this expanding role. Pakistan is actively shifting its foreign policy from a traditional, security-centric and primarily bilateral approach to one focused on geo-economics and robust multilateral engagement.
In this context, a landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) was signed with Saudi Arabia in September 2025.This pact obligates both nations to treat an attack on one as an act of aggression against both. It reinforces decades of cooperation and solidifies Pakistan’s role as a security guarantor for the Gulf, which is seen as a major strategic and economic gain for Pakistan. Field Marshal Munir has hailed this pact as a “historic” milestone. Recently, Pakistan has finalized a multi-billion dollar conventional arms export deal with Libya.The deal, ranging $4 billion is described as one of Pakistan’s largest-ever weapons sales, reportedly includes the purchase of 16 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft. During an official visit in December 2025, Field Marshal Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya, based on shared interests in training, capacity building and counter-terrorism.
In addition, Pakistan’s indigenous arms production industry has expanded to include the domestic production of advanced aircraft (JF-17), sophisticated drones, precision-guided systems and armored vehicles. Defence exports through the IDEAS conference yielded approximately $30 billion in MoUs in 2024-2025, converting technological expertise into significant economic orders. The military has transformed Pakistan into a technologically advanced defence exporter, a key indicator of smart power. Today, Pakistan is modernizing its energy and climatesector, including digital infrastructure and privatization of defunct governmental institutions. Economy showed a 2.7 GDP growth rate in 2025.
Clearly, Pak military has become a central pillar of Pakistan’s economic revival through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). Investment Gateway: The SIFC acts as a “single-window” interface to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), particularly from Gulf nations, by removing bureaucratic bottlenecks with military coordination. Under military-led facilitation, the SIFC prioritizes modernization in high-value sectors including agriculture, mining, information technology and energy.
While Pakistan is potentially utilizing its critical location at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East as an “indispensable connector” for regional trade and energy routes, initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are central to this strategy, aiming to transform Pakistan’s status into an active strategic economic player. Pakistan strengthened counterterrorism collaborations with Turkey and hosted a regional Chiefs of Defence Staff conference in July 2025 with military leaders from the US, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to enhance regional security cooperation.
In 2025, Pakistan was ranked the 12th most powerful military globally by Global Firepower, reflecting its growing strategic strength. Recently, in December 2025, the leading western news outlets, Washington Times, UK’s Financial Times and the Diplomat have highlighted the role of Pak COAS and the CDF, Field Marshal Asim Munir as an effective strategic leader and “middle-power expert” in a changing global order. In essence, as an emerging smart power state, Pakistan is rising as a key security partner, leading to increased transregional interest in formalizing a defence and security deals with other states, including Bangladesh.
—The writer, based in Pakistan, an independent IR & International Law analyst, also an expert in Conflict and Peace Studies (with special focus on Palestine, Kashmir), is member of European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR), including the Washington Foreign Law Society/American Society of International Law.
