US-Pakistan relations: Can America afford to shun Pakistan?

Due to its geographical location, Pakistan has always remained relevant to global dynamics. Over the years, the Muslim-majority nation has also earned the ire of its allies for allegedly promoting terrorism and drug trade in the South Asian region. The US has given truckloads of dollars to Pakistan since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, but according to former US President Donald Trump, Pakistan didn’t live up to expectations by all means.

But, can Americans afford to shun Pakistan? According to a new report, American policy makers cannot afford to walk away from a country that involves three key regions - South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East - and has borders with China and Iran and is close to Russia.

The report further asserted that the US and Pakistan need to rebuild a modest but pragmatic relationship, based on mutual respect for each other's interests, and not on exaggerated expectations.


The report has been prepared by a dozen American scholars of South Asian affairs associated with the Pakistan Study Group (PSG), Washington.

The authors include a former US secretary of state for South Asia, two former US ambassadors to Pakistan, a former Pakistani ambassador to the US and other senior diplomats who have worked in Pakistan, and American scholars specialising in South Asia, Dawn reported.

What does the report say about India?
The report reminds American policymakers that "attitudes toward India at both the elite and popular levels in Pakistan will, at best, change slowly" and it also notes that "public opinion in both the US and Pakistan acts as constraints on bilateral relations".

The big question
The US, however, can still induce Pakistan to change its overall strategic calculus, which is based on Pakistan's understanding of its security environment, it added, Dawn reported. The paper acknowledges that the US and Pakistan have divergent views on China and recommends "a more nuanced US policy on Pakistan".