Pakistan

Vali Nasr sees changed US-Pakistan relations due to changing Sino US ties

Renowned American scholar Vali Nasr said that it is no longer going to be just between Pakistan and the US because China and the US are going through a change of relationship, presenting challenges as well as opportunities for Pakistan.

Addressing at Adab Festival Pakistan in Karachi yesterday he said though the topic he had was ‘US foreign policy for South Asia’, new developments have taken place. This led him to give a background of the three US administrations [Bush, Obama and Trump] since 9/11 and the way they looked at the Middle East and South Asia.
He argued that not only China but Russia too is another big player in the region.
Mr Nasr said since 9/11 Washington’s view of Afghanistan and Pakistan had increasingly narrowed down to the issue of Afghanistan. The Bush administration’s view of the Musharraf government as an ally was a high point for Pakistan. It changed during the Obama administration. He thought that Islamabad’s agenda in Afghanistan was not aligned with Washington’s.
Focus on Afghanistan
Mr Nasr said Trump had been focused on the Afghanistan issue. As soon as he took over, he began pushing the Pentagon with a question: why isn’t the war in Afghanistan ending?
His response to the [current] escalation in Afghanistan is not a surge in troops. He is of the view that this war is not winnable. Therefore, US soldiers have to leave the country.
But for that to happen, Washington must have some sort of agreement with the Taliban. Trump doesn’t care that his dealing with the Taliban will impact his base as the average American is not going to obsess about the Taliban.
“If there is any existentialist threat to America, it’s Trump himself.”
Mr Nasr said these are interesting times for Pakistan. If an agreement is reached in Afghanistan, there are different conditionalities: will the Taliban play ball, will Trump be re-elected, how good the deal is?
But if we were to assume that it [deal] moves forward, then it would be a period that Pakistan and the US follow the same script in a genuine way. Another question is: what if the US leaves Afghanistan and the conflict doesn’t remain an issue for it.
But it’s also an opportunity for Pakistan to make a fresh start by thinking beyond security concerns.
Last but not the least, there are other big players in the region: Russia and China. China and the US are going through a change of relationship, presenting challenges as well as opportunities for Pakistan. “It’s no longer going to be just between Pakistan and the US.”

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