ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan anticipates “tough times” under Donald Trump’s Presidency 2.0 as internal assessment points to possible hurdles in the bilateral relationship, sources familiar with the development told The Express PAkGazette on Sunday.
They said Pakistan’s assessment was based on (a) Trump’s priorities and (b) the number of Cabinet members who did not have a positive view of Islamabad. Much attention is focused on Richard Grenell, Trump’s special envoy, for his public outbursts against Pakistan.
However, according to sources, there are other actors who occupy key positions within the new administration and who also need to be paid attention. “There are no longer people inside the White House who sympathize with Pakistan,” said one well-placed source.
With Islamabad no longer a priority for the United States, the sources said, the Pakistani mission in Washington is struggling to advance in the corridors of power there. Although outgoing US ambassador Donald Blome presented an optimistic picture of the bilateral relationship during President Biden’s term, sources added that the Pakistani mission had limited access to the outgoing administration.
This can be judged from the fact that President Biden never spoke to any of the Pakistani prime ministers during his four-year term. Similarly, there were no high-level visits from the United States during that period. Even US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has traveled to the region, including India, on numerous occasions, has never stopped in Islamabad.
Just weeks before Biden’s term expired, his top adviser made a surprising claim that Pakistan’s long-range missile program was a threat to the United States. Islamabad flatly rejected the claim and expressed surprise at the US assessment given the fact that Washington knew Pakistan’s missile program was focused solely on India.
However, a member of a Washington-based think tank believed that the US deputy national security adviser’s statement was not surprising, as many within political circles viewed Pakistan with suspicion.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the think tank member opined that one of the reasons the United States came to this conclusion was that Pakistan, during the war on terrorism, had harmed Washington’s interests.
While the Biden administration kept the relationship with Pakistan at a certain level, it helped Islamabad get bailout packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). That cooperation could change, feared Pakistani sources, who thought the Trump administration might not look more favorably on Islamabad.
The potential lifeline in this scenario for Pakistan could be Saudi Arabia, which enjoyed close ties with President-elect Trump. Some sources felt that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could be Pakistan’s best option if the Trump administration were to resort to any adverse measures.
