New Delhi, May 3 -- Pakistan has stepped up to play a useful role in mediating between the United States and Iran in attempting to bring the latest West Asian war to an end. It should not surprise us that the Pakistani establishment, which has a culture of geopolitical risk-taking, has turned adversity into an opportunity.

Not only does the continuation of the war mean economic disaster, there is a real chance that Pakistani armed forces can be summoned to a war that they do not want to fight. Saudi Arabia has already invoked their mutual defence pact to station 13,000 troops and a squadron of combat aircraft on its soil.

If these forces are deployed in combat, Iran could decide to attack targets in Pakistan, as it has done across the P...