In a surprising turn, Pakistan has gained favour and influence in Washington in recent months, despite President Donald Trump’s reelection in November last year sparking deep concern in Islamabad, where officials feared strained relations ahead.
During his first term, Trump favoured New Delhi while accusing Islamabad of “deceit” and of providing safe haven to “terrorists” — an allegation Pakistan has categorically rejected.
Following a recent severe military confrontation between India and Pakistan in decades — the nuclear-armed neighbouring countries have undergone a striking role reversal, The Washington Post reported.
Currently, US-India relations are at the lowest level, strained by rising trade tensions and an increasingly personal spat between President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the other hand, Pakistani officials have quietly and successfully navigated Trump’s political world, fostering closer ties with the White House at a moment of global upheaval.
In August, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir visited the US for the second time within a span of just two months, highlighting the strengthening ties between Islamabad and Washington. The army chief described his recent visits to the US as “a sign of a new dimension” in the relationship.
Pakistan has recently secured one of the lowest US tariffs among major Asian economies, at 19% — well below the 29% rate initially threatened by US officials and far lower than the 50% tariff imposed on India for buying Russian oil.
Trump has boasted about joint plans to explore Pakistan’s “massive” oil reserves, and Pakistani officials have offered to partner with America on cryptocurrency ventures and the development of rare minerals.
Last week, the US vowed closer counterterrorism cooperation with Islamabad and designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a “foreign terrorist” organisation.
Senate Defence Committee former chairman Mushahid Hussain Syed said: “We couldn’t ask for more.”
At a time when other countries are being forced to make concessions, he continued, “our legitimate interests are being preserved, protected and promoted”.
In response to questions from The Washington Post, the White House press office said the president “is effective because he is able to maintain relationships while advocating for America First policies — such as reducing the massive trade deficit between the United States and India”.
The economic stakes for Trump are low — Pakistan’s trade volume with the US amounts to about 5% of India’s. Pakistan’s pitches to the president could fall apart in the face of a fragile economy and manifold security threats.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by the Trump family, signed a letter of intent with Pakistan’s Crypto Council in April, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The statement highlighted that the American delegation included Zachary Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, the New York real estate developer now serving as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
US-Pakistan relations gained further momentum in May, analysts said: When the president announced his administration had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after days of military escalation.
Officials in Islamabad were quick to give Trump credit and announced they would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
India, however, denied that US mediation had sealed the truce, contributing to the falling-out between Trump and Modi.
“President Trump leaned on his relationships with both India and Pakistan to secure a ceasefire in a deadly conflict that could have gone nuclear without his involvement,” the White House said in its statement to The Post.
Weeks after the ceasefire, Trump invited Field Marshal Munir to have lunch with him at the White House — a highly unusual private meeting between a US president and a foreign military chief, as well as a tacit acknowledgement of COAS Munir’s growing clout.
