Pakistan, Sept. 21 -- Every decade or so, Islamabad and Washington rediscover each other. It happened after 9/11, when Pakistan became a frontline ally overnight. It happened again with the Kerry-Lugar Bill in 2009, which promised $7.5 billion in civilian aid explicitly to broaden the relationship beyond security. Both times, once the immediate crisis passed, the relationship contracted back to its security core, then went quiet. In 2026, the two countries are again talking about diversification along the lines of trade, critical minerals and technology. The question worth asking is not whether this moment is real, but whether it has a different engine than the ones before it.

There's a case that it does. The earlier resets were driven b...