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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that he looked forward to working with United States (US) President Donald Trump for an “enduring” Pakistan-US partnership, shortly after the latter was sworn in as the 47th US president.
Pakistan and the US collaborated during the Cold War and in the fight against Al-Qaeda after 9/11, yet their relationship was also tested by divergent priorities on various issues. In recent years, Washington and Islamabad’s ties deteriorated as the former suspected the latter of supporting the Taliban in their 2021 takeover of Kabul, allegations which Islamabad rejected.
Tensions rose further in 2022 when former Pakistan premier Imran Khan accused the Biden administration of orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote, a charge the US denied. Since Khan’s ouster in 2022, Sharif’s government has made frequent efforts to repair the damaged relations.
“Over the years, our two great countries have worked together closely to pursue peace and prosperity in the region and beyond for our peoples & we shall continue to do so in the future,” Sharif said on X, extending his best wishes to Trump for a successful second term in office.
“I look forward to working with him to strengthen the enduring Pakistan-US partnership.”
Differences have also emerged between both countries over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. Late last year, US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said nuclear-armed Pakistan’s development of long-range ballistic missiles could potentially target the US.
The statement came after the US said it was imposing new sanctions related to Pakistan’s missile program, including on the state-owned defense agency that oversees the program. The Foreign Office in Islamabad said at the time that Pakistan’s strategic capabilities were solely meant to defend its sovereignty, dismissing the US allegations as “devoid of rationality.”
On Monday, Shafqat Ali Khan, a Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson, said Pakistan sought to “solidify” its relations with the US, which were marked by multi-layered cooperation in economy, trade, people-to-people connections, security and counter-terrorism.
“Pakistan-US relations have a very long history, and the relations remain rich and dense, and we would continue to work with the new administration to further solidify and strengthen this vital relationship,” Shafqat told Arab News.
“We seek to further strengthen these ties by ensuring the continued positive growth of bilateral relations.”
But many foreign affairs experts believe the new US administration will continue viewing Pakistan through the “China-India lens.”
“The biggest challenge for Pakistan is that the Trump administration will continue its previous policies of looking at Pakistan through the China-India lens,” Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, a professor at Quaid-e-Azam University’s School of Politics and International Relations, told Arab News.
“Now, the biggest challenge for us is how to convince the Americans that though we will be not a part of the American policies to contain China, but at the same time, we could be a part of Americans’ policies in addressing the non-traditional security challenges and on Afghanistan.”
Senator Sherry Rehman, who has previously served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, said every transition offers opportunities for a reset, and Pakistan needed to state its own goals for a broader bilateral path to widen its relationship with the US from a highly “securitized” lens to a more robust economic and commercial one.
“Islamabad should make a clear agenda with defined milestones for consistent engagement over better terms of trade, not just wait for Washington to respond to regional headwinds, in which Pakistan finds itself seeking balance against an Indian arms race in South Asia,” she told Arab News.
Dr. Salma Malik, another foreign affairs expert, said if the US adopts policies directed against China, every action or policy decision it takes will have a “direct or indirect impact on Pakistan.”
“Therefore, it is important not to overreact or panic, instead, we should cautiously approach developments, assess opportunities, and respond accordingly,” she said.