Trump travel ban: Why did he spare Pakistan?
US President Donald
Trump
has imposed a travel ban on nationals from 12 countries, citing national security risks, but
Pakistan
which openly hosts and celebrates US-designated terror groups is missing from the list. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted on X: "President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm."
In March, the Trump administration was considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries including Pakistan, as per an internal memo seen by Reuters. During his first term, Trump had taken a very hard stance against Pakistan for its sponsorship of terror. What moved Trump's hand in a short period of time?
Also Read:
US imposes entry ban on 12 nations, adds restrictions on 7 others
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From Trump 1.0 to Trump 2.0: The change of heart
During his first term as the US president, Donald Trump's first tweet of 2018 was on Pakistan: "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!" he posted on X, then called Twitter, on January 1, 2018. In August that year, the US military cancelled $300 million in aid to Pakistan, accusing it of not doing enough to root out militants from its border region with Afghanistan. Another $500 million were stripped by Congress from Pakistan earlier to bring the total withheld to $800 million.
In November 2018, Trump accused Pakistan of helping to hide Osama bin Laden, stating, "But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there" . Consequently, the US suspended a significant portion of its military aid to Pakistan.
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In April 2019, the Trump administration imposed visa sanctions on Pakistan under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This US law mandates that if a country refuses or unreasonably delays accepting the return of its nationals who have been ordered deported from the United States, the US government may impose sanctions, including visa restrictions on certain categories of that country's citizens.
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Terror hub Pakistan not included: Brahma Chellaney hints at US' Deep State's anti-India stance
The sanctions were targeted visa restrictions, initially applied to certain Pakistani officials and government representatives. The State Department, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), began denying or delaying visa issuance to these individuals. The move was designed to be escalatory, signaling that broader visa restrictions could follow if Pakistan did not take corrective action. This was a rare use of Section 243(d). Prior to Pakistan, only a handful of countries had faced such penalties (including Guinea, Cambodia, and Eritrea).
However despite tensions, Trump also sought to reset relations with Pakistan. In July 2019, then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the US, where Trump called for strengthening trade ties and offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute, a proposal India rejected.
What explains Trump's new love for Pakistan?
In March this year, Pakistan was part of the sweeping travel restrictions planned by the Trump administration for the citizens of dozens of countries. However, a US official had told Reuters at that time that there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration. One change that has happened is Pakistan has been dropped from the list. The action is not inconsistent with Trump's recent statements on Pakistan.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump spoke glowingly about Pakistan: "They are brilliant people and make incredible products." Trump has offered unqualified praise for Pakistan several times after Operation Sindoor. He claimed he intervened during the India-Pakistan conflict and convinced both the countries to reach what Trump claimed to be ceasefire. India has contested this interpretation. It has said it just halted military action and didn't agree to any ceasefire with Pakistan. It has also said the halt in India's Operation Sindoor came at Pakistan's request and not due to Trump's intervention. Trump suggested he used trade as a negotiating tool to force India into a ceasefire. The ministry of external affairs said the issue of trade did not come up during any talks with the US and "it was the force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to seek ceasefire". Clearly, Trump chose to support Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin, writing in the Washington Examiner, said that by bragging about how he could leverage trade to stop fighting, Trump drew moral equivalence between terror-sponsoring Pakistan and terror-victim India.
Why is Trump ignoring Pakistan's terror project against India and stepping in to save it? Many would think Trump, who sees himself as the greatest deal maker, has been bought by Pakistan which is 'investing' in the Trump family to reap geopolitical dividends, as several recent reports suggest.
Trump's change of heart on Pakistan after Operation Sindoor -- ignoring its terror activities, praising it, and offering to mediate on Kashmir -- could be connected to a recent deal between Pakistan's Crypto Council and World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency venture in which Trump's family has 60% stake. WLF sent its heavy guns, including Zachary Witkoff, son of Trump's golf buddy Steve, to Islamabad where they were feted by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, and more crucially, army chief General Asim Munir, who just days later 'cleared' the mass killing in Pahalgam of tourists who were segregated on the basis of their faith, TOI had reported. WLF's stakeholders include Trump's two sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr, who, along with their brother-in law Jared Kushner, have been scouring different parts of the world for lucrative business deals and have attracted allegations of leveraging their links to the White House.
There are other deals that would have mellowed Trump towards Pakistan. TOI reported that Gentry Beach, a hunting buddy and college friend of Donald Trump Jr, the US President's son, visited Pakistan in January and came back to brief Trump Sr and his close aides at Mar-a-Lago about the 'amazing place called Pakistan' and a potential to cut deals worth billions of dollars in explorations of rare earth minerals, oil & gas, and real estate.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hosted him twice, first in Islamabad in January in the presence of his senior cabinet colleagues, including the ministers for finance and foreign affairs, and again in Dubai on February 11, on the sidelines of the summit of world govts. Beach was an exceptionally unknown face among hosts of foreign dignitaries and heads of state Sharif met. While in Pakistan, Beach noted the Islamic country had rare earth reserves of more than $50 trillion
Pakistan has often tried to please the US by handing over terrorists that it had been using to achieve its own goals actually. Early in March, the US arrested in Afghanistan an ISIS-K operative involved in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 Marines. Trump was quick to thank Pakistan for its help in nabbing the high-value fugitive from the Pak-Afghan border. "I want to thank the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster," he told the US Congress. TOI reported that what was brushed under the carpet was an open secret in intelligence circles -- the operative, Sharifullah, had been in Pakistan spy agency ISI's custody for over a year. ISI ran multiple operations using his network and ultimately handed him over to the CIA at the right time - when the regime changed in Washington.
(With TOI inputs)
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