Pakistan, May 18 -- When Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan and Pakistan were developing ties within a trilateral framework involving Turkiye, he did more than extend diplomatic courtesy to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who is representing Pakistan at the 13th UN World Urban Forum in Baku.

He placed Pakistan inside a wider Eurasian conversation, where old alignments are losing warmth and new corridors are acquiring political meaning. It was also a recognition that Islamabad has begun to look beyond crisis management and recover its own strategic value.

There is reason to welcome this shift. Pakistan has stood consistently with Azerbaijan, while Baku has supported Islamabad's position on Kashmir. Turkiye gives ...