Trump - Imran meeting

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Imran Khan are set to meet later this month. This is their first diplomatic rendezvous since Prime Minister Khan took office last year. While the agenda for the meeting is still being finalised, this is a unique opportunity for both leaders to reconfigure the bumpy relationship between Washington and Islamabad.  Over the past few decades, Pakistan’s importance in the eyes of mainstream US foreign policy community significantly increased twice; once during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and then again during the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan.

On the face of it, Pakistan has always been a strategic ally but the relationship has always been purely transnational. During Trump’s term, the ties have been mostly dogged by mistrust.  This will not help the US and particularly Trump, who is eager to seal a deal for lasting settlement in Afghanistan. For too long Pakistan has served as an ally that is used and subsequently dumped -- when not needed or at least until it is required again.  It is important for the Trump administration to acknowledge and treat Pakistan as an equal ally in the region.  As a strategic partner, Pakistan cannot be bullied and put on trial whenever its services are no longer required.  In the long-run, Washington’s hard line approach toward Islamabad will not yield a positive outcome. After all, Beijing has emerged as the paramount player in the region and particularly in Pakistan.  Perhaps China’s accelerating support for Pakistan is a warning sign for the US that its leverage over Islamabad will decrease over the next few decades if it fails to reset its ties.  So for the leaders of two countries that have been on the same side of history, as strategic allies, the meeting in Washington offers a chance to reestablish trust and redefine the rules of engagement.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 08^th, 2019.

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