ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday pitched itself as a key player in the emerging United States-backed regional counterterrorism architecture after hosting a security conference that underscored its `commitment` to a secure and cooperative region.

`Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), [reaffirmed] Pakistan`s steadfast commitment to peace, stability, and constructive engagement across the region, said a statement by the army`s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) about the Central and South Asia Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference.The rare conference, featuring senior generals from the United States and four Central Asian republics, looked at first like a familiar page from Islamabad`s playbook, a security gathering focused on terrorism, regional stability, and military coordination.

But behind the formalities and flag-draped photo-ops was something more telling: a quiet yet consequential realignment of Pakistan`s regional security posture. For a country long known for hedging between great powers, the message that Pakistan is pivoting westward was very clear.

The conference`s theme, `Strengthening Bonds, Securing Peace`, underscored the need for regional cooperation in the face of mounting threats. But the guest list said more than the slogan. Missing were Russia and China, once Pakistan`s preferred partners in security dialogues, and Afghanistan, whose Taliban-led government is seen as both a source of and a shield for militant spillover. In their place stood US Centcom chief General Michael Kurilla, alongside military leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, some of the countries that, like Pakistan, live underthelong shadowof Afghanistan`s instability.

And while the conference was cast as a regional forum covering South and Central Asia, no other South Asian state was present. That absence, too, reflected the region`s fragmentation, where mistrust and unresolved disputes make even the idea of a shared security agenda elusive. The conference participation was no accident of scheduling. It was a statement.

Pakistan, once a cornerstone of post9/11 US counterterrorism strategy and later a participant in Chinese-led security frameworks, is recalibrating its bets. That recalibration includes a public diplomacy push, with Field Marshal Asim Munir recently meeting President Donald Trump and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar holding talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A forthcoming US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue in Islamabad next month and the handover of ISIS-Khorasan (ISKP) operative Sharifullah earlier this year to the United States add ballast to the shift.

Pakistan is making its case not just as a partner, but as a linchpin in the next phase of regional counterterrorism architecture.

`In an era defined by transnational threats and complex hybrid challenges, the imperative for deeper military-to-military cooperation, strategic dialogue, and mutual trust is paramount. Pakistan remains fully committed to working with partner nations to build a secure and prosperousregional environment,` remarked the COAS.

This conference took place at a time of significant flux in South and Central Asia`s threat environment. While the Islamic State`s Afghan offshoot appears bruisedits propaganda disrupted,leaders arrested,and external plots at zero in 2025 it remains resilient and digitally agile.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), too, continues cross-border attacks with relative impunity. In Central Asia, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and returnees from Afghanistan are reactivating old networks. Meanwhile, Pakistan`s own Baloch insurgency is adopting urbanterrorism tactics and experimenting territorial insurgency by temporarily holding towns, hijacking trains, and broadcasting propaganda videos.

`The high-level dialogue featured comprehensive exchanges on regional security dynamics, the evolving strategic environment in Central and South Asia, and the necessity of joint training initiatives, counter-terrorism cooperation, and coordinated humanitarian responses during crises,` the ISPR said while describing the discussions at the conference.

In this context, the absence of China and Russia from Pakistan`s latest initiative is more than symbolic. In earlier years, Islamabad had leaned on Beijing for regional coordination, including a failed 2016 quadrilateral initiative. But China now seems preoccupied with its Indo-Pacific ambitions, and Russia, drained by its war in Ukraine, lacks the bandwidth to shape the Central Asian security.

That said, China is not completely sidelined. Field Marshal Munir was in Beijing just days earlier, meeting top Chinese civilian and military leaders, where counter-terrorism cooperation was also one of the top agenda items.

This signals that Islamabad is not completely abandoning its eastern and one of the most trusted partners, China, while re-shifting its reliance for counter-terrorism support back on the West in anticipation of multi-vector threats.

Russia, however, may look more sceptically at this westward turn. As a co-anchor of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) alongside China, Moscow has long pushed for regionally led security mechanisms that exclude Western influence. The optics of a Pakistan-led forum featuring US participation but not Russia or China may be seen in Moscow as an encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence.

Though billed as a Chiefs of Defence Staff conference, Pakistan was represented not by its CJCSC Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the formal Pakistani equivalent of CDS, but by Field Marshal Munir, an acknowledgement of the army`s continued dominance in shaping foreign and security policies.`Delegates collectively reaffirmed their shared resolve to uphold peace, respect, national sovereignty, and confront common se curity threats, including terrorism, cyber insecurity, and violent extremism among others, the ISPR said about the outcome of the meeting.