May 7: Just Security report by Sikander Ahmed Shah states that relations between Pakistan and the United States appear to be at an all-time low. In his first tweet of the New Year, President Trump accused Pakistan of “deception, lies and of providing safe haven to terrorists.” Just a few days later, the U.S. government declared that it would suspend all aid to Pakistan, including military assistance until Pakistan’s military takes action against the Taliban and ‘militant’ Haqqani network. In February, the U.S. forwarded a motion, also backed by European nations, to place Pakistan on a global terrorism financing watch-list. These U.S. threats are nothing new. Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan were also acrimonious under the Obama administration and previous articles in Just Security suggest that efforts to pressure Pakistan will not have any lasting impact on Washington’s influence over Islamabad. The recent spat between these two troubled allies is however part of a deeper rift — a divide that is only widening under the Trump administration. Over time, repeated threats from the United States have pushed Pakistan to look to China and Iran for assistance — a move that will likely have serious and long-term ramifications for rights protections and security in the region.
Just Security: US – Pakistan Relations: A Marriage of Inconvenience
