Pakistan-US relations strained by complete silence
ISLAMABAD:
More than two weeks after President Donald Trump took charge of the White House, there has been no formal contact yet between Pakistan and the new administration.
Official sources told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that the two countries had been in touch through usual diplomatic channels but there had been no direct contact with the Trump administration.
The lack of direct contact shows Pakistan is no longer a priority for the new Trump administration. Pakistan was once known as the most allied ally of the United States and regular interactions between the two capitals were routine.
However, over the past few years, things have changed to the extent that the new US president does not even speak to Pakistani leaders. The trend was set by former president Joe Biden, who during his four-year term, never spoke to any of the Pakistani prime ministers.
His secretary of State Anthony Blinken also never travelled to Islamabad despite frequently visiting the region.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were quick to congratulate President Trump on his inauguration. Prime Minister Shehbaz even wrote a letter to Trump, expressing Pakistan's desire to deepen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Similarly, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar felicitated his US counterpart Marco Rubio. But the new administration has yet to respond to any of the courtesies extended by Pakistani leaders.
The Trump administration officials have yet to make any explicit statement on Pakistan but certain decisions taken by the US President have implications for the country.
Pakistan was among the countries which were affected by President Trump's executive order seeking a pause in foreign aid. Except for Israel and Egypt, the Trump Administration suspended foreign aid programs in order to conduct a review to ascertain if such funding were aligned with the US foreign policy agenda.
Pakistan hoped that the pause was temporary and the US would soon resume USAID programs.
The other Trump decision that has direct bearing on Pakistan was his executive order to halt Afghan refugee settlement program. The new US administration suspended the Special Immigration Visa program and Afghan refugee admissions program for 90 days.
Pakistan is currently hosting approximately 25,000 Afghans, who were to be relocated to the US. All such Afghans worked for the US military and other American contractors during their campaign in Afghanistan. They were promised US visas since their lives were in danger under Taliban rule. The Foreign Office spokesperson for the first-time last week disclosed that under the arrangement reached with the Biden administration, the process of relocation of all such Afghans had to be completed by September 2025.
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