Several prominent Pakistani think tanks, policymakers and top government officials have been forced to re-strategise their position and reassess the terms of their relationship with the United States under the incoming Trump administration. Trump has already announced several names of his new Cabinet with key positions, giving an indirect message to Islamabad that it may not be on his priority list in comparison to New Delhi.
The list includes Secretary of Defence, State, National Security Advisor and the CIA chief who have been critical of Pakistan in the past and have had a more considerate view of India. Pakistani policymakers are keeping a close eye on Trump’s choices, indicating the future foreign policy of the US administration. It is believed that Pakistan may not be on the priority list of Trump administration and the US foreign policy.
Senator Marvo Rubio, who has been nominated as the next US Secretary of State, had introduced a bill that supported India and rang alarm bells in Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The ‘US-India Defense Cooperation Act’ introduced in the Senate by Rubio called for an extended defence cooperation with India to tackle the increasing influence of China in the region.
The bill proposed that India should be treated at par with allies, including Japan, Israel, South Korea and NATO, on technology transfers. It also suggested that New Delhi should be provided with security assistance through collaboration in defence, technology, economic investments and civil space.
Rubio’s proposed bill also mentioned Pakistan’s involvement in sponsoring terrorism against India through various proxy groups, suggesting that Islamabad should not be provided with any US security assistance. The other important pick by Donald Trump is Mike Waltz, nominated as the National Security Advisor.
Waltz has also been critical of Pakistan in the past, calling for putting more pressure on Islamabad to eliminate cross-border terrorism. Trump’s Cabinet nomination also includes Tulsi Gabbard for the key post of US National Intelligence Director.
Tulsi had not only backed India during the February 2019 stand-off between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack but also has been vocal about Islamabad harbouring Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, who was killed in a US Navy Seals operation in Abbottabad, back in 2011.
John Ratcliffe, who is going to head the CIA, has served as the Director of US National Intelligence during Trump’s first term and is known to keep a hawk’s eye on Iran and China. Analysts reckon that all the significant nominations made by Trump do not augur well for the US-Pak relationship going forward.
They foresee that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government will face a major challenge at the hands of the Trump administration. Last week, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir said that Islamabad would not become part of any bloc in any conflict, a statement that experts believe is an indirect message to the incoming Trump administration.
Government sources also revealed that it has already started reaching out to Trump’s team and is working towards establishing early contacts with the incoming administration.
