Modi’s bid to isolate Pakistan backfires as Islamabad gains global diplomatic influence: Al Jazeera

• Report says Pakistan emerged stronger diplomatically despite years of Indian pressure campaign

• Islamabad deepens ties with Washington, Beijing amid shifting geopolitical landscape

• Al Jazeera highlights Pakistan’s growing role in US-Iran diplomacy and regional affairs

• Pakistan won ‘global battle of narratives’ during May 2025 conflict, analyst says

 ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long-standing campaign to diplomatically isolate Pakistan has largely produced the opposite outcome, with Islamabad increasingly emerging as a more influential geopolitical and diplomatic actor on the global stage, according to a report published by Al Jazeera.

The report recalled that in September 2016, following the Uri attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir, Modi had publicly pledged to isolate Pakistan internationally.

Addressing a public rally in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala, he declared that India would intensify efforts to ensure Pakistan remained diplomatically isolated across the world.

Nearly a decade later, however, Al Jazeera observed that Pakistan has instead expanded and strengthened its strategic and diplomatic engagement with major global powers, including China and the United States, while steadily enhancing its role in regional and international affairs.

The report highlighted Pakistan’s growing engagement with the administration of US President Donald Trump, noting that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir both visited the White House during the past year.

According to Al Jazeera, Pakistan has also emerged as an increasingly important diplomatic interlocutor between Washington and Tehran amid continuing regional tensions, further elevating Islamabad’s international relevance.

The report identified the May 2025 military confrontation between Pakistan and India as another key moment that significantly boosted Pakistan’s diplomatic profile.

During the conflict, US President Donald Trump publicly announced a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Pakistan promptly acknowledged Washington’s role in securing the truce, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanking Trump for his “leadership and proactive role.”

Islamabad later nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize — a move which, according to the report, further strengthened ties between Pakistan and the United States.

In contrast, Al Jazeera noted that New Delhi resisted acknowledging any third-party mediation and maintained that the ceasefire resulted solely from bilateral military communication.

Trump, however, repeatedly asserted that the United States had brokered the truce and claimed his administration had helped avert a potentially wider conflict in South Asia.

The report further stated that Pakistan gained a significant advantage in shaping international perceptions during the crisis.

Analysts cited by Al Jazeera argued that India failed to provide convincing evidence linking Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack that triggered the escalation.

Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council told Al Jazeera that Pakistan appeared to have won “the global battle of narratives.”

The report also noted that Pakistan’s military performance during the confrontation attracted considerable international attention, particularly Islamabad’s claims regarding the downing of multiple Indian fighter aircraft, including Rafale jets.

According to Al Jazeera, India’s delayed acknowledgment of aircraft losses reinforced international perceptions that Pakistan had effectively held its ground militarily against a far larger adversary.

On the diplomatic front, the report highlighted Pakistan’s deepening strategic partnership with China.

During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping described relations between the two countries as “unbreakable,” underscoring what the report characterized as the enduring strength of bilateral ties.

Al Jazeera also pointed to Pakistan’s expanding engagement with regional countries, including Bangladesh following political developments in Dhaka, while noting that India’s regional diplomacy has faced mounting challenges amid the continued paralysis of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Analysts quoted in the report argued that New Delhi’s approach toward Pakistan had undermined prospects for broader regional integration in South Asia.

Former Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan told Al Jazeera that Pakistan’s recent diplomatic gains in Washington were the result of “astute diplomacy,” particularly in the aftermath of the May 2025 conflict.

The report concluded that despite years of Indian efforts to isolate Pakistan through international forums and counterterrorism narratives, shifting geopolitical realities have instead repositioned Islamabad as an increasingly important regional actor with growing influence in Washington, Beijing and wider international diplomacy.