You are absolutely correct. But Pakistan would have become the next North Korea if we hadn't complied to the US demands...
- Imagine US as the sole superpower in 2001... no one would have dared to stand in its way back then
- Russia was a collapsed empire with a dwindling economy, they could barely sustain themselves. Besides, we could not trust them due to obvious reasons: 1) we fought them just a decade ago, 2) they were, and still are very close to India.
- China wasn't as influential or powerful as it is today, so I highly doubt they would have stood with Pakistan, especially, after 9/11 mass hysteria and an international consensus on Afghan war...
- Pakistan would have been branded as "terrorist supporter" and a rogue state... all ties cut, all aids withdrawn... we were a new nuclear power, but without the missile capabilities... so, all they would have to do, was to send a naval fleet in the Arabia ocean, and you can imagine where it would have gone from there... India, our neighbor, would have been more than happy to extend help...
So, what happened post-9/11 was unfortunate, but inevitable... In my view, Pakistan's biggest geopolitical blunders were made later, e.g., allowing Drone Strikes, OBL operation (everyone knows CIA couldn't have done it alone... plus, where is the body??) etc. We allowed Americans to gain too much influence over us... blackwater and CIA used to operate openly, and gave them military basis, etc., while USA was openly supporting anti-Pakistani elements in Afghanistan (India included).