PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad measures each Middle East move with the anxiety of a country sharing 959 kilometers of border with Iran and harboring millions of workers in Gulf monarchies. Trump's ultimatum is covered under dual angle: financial markets holding breath before 8 PM ET deadline, and Pakistani military command publicly condemning strikes on Saudi sites — rapid positioning without ambiguity revealing where loyalties lie when choosing becomes necessary. Pakistan faces an impossible position: security ally of Riyadh (thousands of Pakistani soldiers deployed in Saudi Arabia under bilateral defense agreements), direct Iran neighbor sharing Balochistan, and commercial partner of Beijing purchasing Iranian oil. IRGC strikes on Jubail petrochemical complex directly threaten Pakistani nationals — approximately 2.7 million Pakistanis live and work in Saudi Arabia, significant share in eastern province petrochemical sector. Oil at $150 is a verdict for Pakistani economy already under IMF life support, with double-digit food inflation and chronic power cuts. Dawn reports Trump's statement — 'an entire civilization will die' — with the stoicism of a country knowing civilizations die silently, far from American cameras. The Pakistani question isn't whether Trump bluffs, but how long the country holds if the Strait of Hormuz closes and remittances from Gulf workers — $8 billion annually from Saudi Arabia alone — stop.