For Pakistan, it was bad enough that Donald Trump won the US elections. However, the team that he has been picking ever since he won the elections, beating Democrat Kamala Harris, has Islamabad more worried.
While the President-elect has made several picks, there are four which would keep Pakistan on the edge and have the terror-sponsoring nation worried.
The US National Intelligence Director, Tulsi Gabbard, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, CIA Chief John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio all have very strong impressions about Pakistan. The four who will enjoy top billing in the Donald Trump administration have, in the past, made their views on Pakistan very clear.
Tulsi Gabbard, for one, has openly backed Bharat on the Pakistan issue. She was one of the very few who had offered New Delhi full support when the Indian Air Force hit a Jaish-e-Mohammad facility in Balakot, Pakistan, following the 2029 Pulwama attack. Further, she has also been vocal on New Delhi’s concerns about cross-border terrorism that Islamabad indulges in.
She has criticised Pakistan on numerous occasions for sheltering terrorists and also slammed them for protecting Al Qaeda chief, Osama Bin Laden. He was taken down by the US Navy Seals in 2011 during an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
As the President’s National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz would have a very crucial role to play. While his hands would be full on issues such as the Gaza War and the conflict in Ukraine, he would continue to have strong words about Pakistan, as he has done in the past.
He had once told Pakistan that terrorism cannot be a tool of foreign policy. The Pakistan government, military and Intelligence will have to move past the likes of Lashkar-e-Tayiba or any other terror group, he had also said.
Waltz’s views are in synch with New Delhi’s. He had called for significantly higher pressure on Pakistan and wanted the country to be held accountable for terror funding. On numerous occasions, he has called on Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism.
How Ratcliff and Rubio View Pakistan
The next CIA chief, John Ratcliffe, would keep a very close watch on Pakistan during his tenure. He has strong views on China and Iran. This would be important considering that Beijing has invested a lot in Pakistan. Although the ties between China and Pakistan are not what they used to be, the Chinese would still continue to engage in the country. Ratcliffe would have his eyes and ears on the ground on these issues.
As Secretary of State, Marco Rubio is expected to go hard on Pakistan. He had proposed a bill mentioning Pakistan’s direct involvement in funding terror against Bharat. He called out the various state-sponsored proxies that are at play in Pakistan while adding that Islamabad should not be given any US security assistance.
Rubio’s views on Islamabad are very much in sync with Donald Trump’s. In 2028, when Trump was President, his administration had cancelled $300 million in aid to Pakistan. The US had said that Islamabad is granting safe haven to militants who are waging a 17-year-old war in Afghanistan. Trump, while cancelling the grant, accused Islamabad of lies and deceit.
Trump has, on several occasions, rallied against Pakistan’s reluctance to crack down on terrorists. “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Trump had said in a tweet.
Rubio’s bill, named the US-India Defence Cooperation Act, was introduced in the Senate. It called for an extended defence cooperation with India to tackle China’s increasing influence in the region. The bill tabled by Rubio advised to treat India at par with top US allies such as South Korea, Japan and NATO. New Delhi should be given full security assistance through collaboration in technology, defence, civil space and economic investments.
Generals in a huddle
For Pakistan, this would be the last straw. It cannot claim anymore that the Chinese would back them no matter what. China has its fair share of problems with Islamabad as attacks on its nationals in Pakistan are on the rise.
Pakistan is also well aware of the way in which they were treated during the earlier Trump regime. To make matters worse for them, Trump is not just back but has chosen four persons for high-profile positions. The appointments have sent a clear message to Pakistan that it does not have a place in Washington’s foreign policy.
The only option before Pakistan is to re-strategise, and to do so, the military officials are in a huddle. The bigger question would be, can Pakistan re-strategise? The answer is no. Its proxies, such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, would not allow it to do so. A change would also mean a different approach to Jammu & Kashmir, and this is not something even the military would agree to, nor would the proxies.
With a change of guard in the US, which is extremely critical of Islamabad and China breathing down their neck, Pakistan finds itself in a situation like never before.
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