Summer of 2010 vividly echoes in my memory. My friends and I gathered in the hush of the evening breeze, our words wandering through faith, ideology, and the idea of Pakistan, as we anticipated Isha Adhan. With contagious excitement and optimism, one of them said,

“Guys do you know our passport says, This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.”

I rushed home that night to see it for myself. That line, bold and unapologetic, filled me with pride and a sense of belonging to something principled.

Those words still give me a thrill, though now it stems from a quieter, sharpened understanding than from a youthful naiveté.

Despite that resolute declaration inscribed at the very front our passports, clandestine relations between Pakistan and Israel, the “Military-Industrial Complex” of both countries to be precise, are quite an open secret.

The purchase of the Israeli “Pegasus” spyware — a tool notorious for breaching privacy and blackmailing both influential figures and the general public — is just the tip of the iceberg. From the covert export of Pakistani apparel to the discreet supply of 155mm artillery shells, the list grows darker. Top it with the unofficial visit of Pakistani media influencers in March 2025, and one finds himself looking at a picture portraying a sort of forbidden love.

Some may call it “war-diplomacy’. But such diplomacy seldom takes place with war criminals. Even if we entertain this narrative for a moment, a news far more alarming and diametrical to the ideology of Pakistan has recently surfaced.

“Pakistan is preparing to send up to 20,000 soldiers to the Gaza Strip as part of an international stabilization force, according to deal brokered by Field Marshal Asim Munir with the American CIA and Israel’s Mossad, top intelligence sources have said.”

(1) The proposed arrangement envisions a “controlled Pakistani military presence in Gaza” under the guise of humanitarian rehabilitation and reconstruction. However, sources clarify that Pakistan’s real mandate would involve “neutralizing remaining Hamas elements and stabilizing the territory under Western instructions.” The plan reportedly involves Pakistan working alongside Indonesia and Azerbaijan, which are being considered for limited peacekeeping or enforcement roles in a post-war Gaza administration framework led by Western and Arab intermediaries.

(2) One doesn’t require exceptional mental prowess to link this with severe crackdown unleashed by the state of Pakistan on pro-Palestine protestors as though a deliberate effort was set in motion to reflect a sense of acceptance, even at the crushing cost of our own people.

As always, the nation will once again be sweet talked into seeing this development as a tactical romance of supposedly ideological beefers, but deep down, every conscience knows what it really is: a blatant betrayal of the very principles that defines us.

The final verdict, however, will not be written by generals or governments. It will be written by the collective awakening of the people.

In Sha Allah khair.