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Express Tribune
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
IS-K terrorist's capture may reset Pak-US ties: Curtis
The arrest and extradition of the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) terrorist behind the August 26, 2021, deadly attack on US Marines underscores the importance of the US-Pakistan counterterrorism partnership and could serve as a "building block" to restore bilateral ties. In an interview with VOA Deewa Services, Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), described the development as an important step. "I think this could be sort of a building block, to reset the US-Pakistan relationship – a very important step – and obviously President [Donald] Trump mentioned it in his statement to the joint session of US Congress," she noted. Curtis was referring to capture of Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as "Jafar," by Pakistani agencies who is accused of masterminding the Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul which killed 13 American servicemen and roughly 170 Afghans. President Trump broke the news of Sharifullah's capture Tuesday night in a speech to Congress on Capitol Hill. "Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity," Trump said. The US president hailed Pakistan for helping with Sharifullah's arrest. "And I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster," the US president said. Recalling the strained US-Pakistan relations under President Joe Biden, Lisa Curtis dismissed the claims made by Jon Finer – who served as Biden's principal deputy national security advisor – that Pakistan's weapons programme was directed at the US. Instead, she pointed out that Pakistan's strategic focus remained on countering India due to its history of three wars. "Pakistan's strategic programmes are driven by the desire to pace with India's programmes ... with India, it has three wars, so this is the opportunity to reset the relationship between the Trump administration and Pakistan." Curtis, who served in Donald Trump's first administration as the senior director for South and Central Asia in the National Security Council, suggested that US foreign policy should recognise the new geopolitical landscape. She stressed that "we are in a new era". With no US troops in Afghanistan, the primary concern was now strategic competition with China as it is not in Washington's interest for Islamabad to become entirely dependent on Beijing. "The major issue is strategic competition with China, and it's not in the United States interests for Pakistan to completely dependent on China. We want Pakistan to have options, alternatives," she emphasised. While reinstating military aid at levels seen after 9/11 was unlikely, the countries could tap into potential areas of cooperation, particularly in the IT sector, critical minerals and other mutual economic interests. The senior fellow at the DC think-tank reckoned that while a formal alliance or strategic partnership may not be on the table, fostering a cordial relationship with Pakistan in key areas of mutual benefit remains an option. "There are opportunities they [the US and Pakistan] can cooperate when there is mutual interest in IT sector, critical minerals." Regarding Pakistan's long-standing ties with China, she noted that Islamabad sought balanced relations and did not want to be wholly reliant on Beijing. "They [Islamabad] would prefer to have a good relationship with the United States, so again that is to the United States' benefit, so certainly it's not in the interest of the United States to see Pakistan you know fully dependent on China," Curtis said. She added the US did not want to see a worsening of Beijing's historical ties with Islamabad or even a deepening of the relations. "All I am saying is that the United States does not want to see China's relations with Pakistan are worsened or deepened, not so deepened where China finds a military outpost in Pakistan," she added.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Modi Seeks to Dodge Trump's Trade Wrath in White House Summit
(Bloomberg) -- Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here. Why American Mobility Ground to a Halt Saudi Arabia's Neom Signs $5 Billion Deal for AI Data Center SpaceX Bid to Turn Texas Starbase Into City Is Set for Vote in May Cutting Arena Subsidies Can Help Cover Tax Cuts, Think Tank Says When Prime Minister Narendra Modi last met President Donald Trump five years ago, the US leader stood before a crowd of 100,000 cheering Indians in Modi's home state of Gujarat and declared: 'America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people.' Modi is likely to find the US president in a decidedly less celebratory mood when the two leaders meet in Washington Thursday. The head of the world's most populous nation faces a minefield in negotiations with Trump, who has signaled that India remains a potential tariff target despite a deepening partnership between the two countries. Modi has rolled out a series of concessions to Trump in an effort to mollify the US leader and preserve his nation's access to its largest trading partner. In the last few weeks, India has slashed tariffs on items from motorcycles to luxury cars, agreed to take planeloads of undocumented migrants and pushed to ramp up purchases of US energy. 'Prime Minister Modi knows that Trump's priorities are deportations of illegal Indians and India's high tariffs, so Modi has prepared for this, and he is seeking to preempt Trump's anger over these issues,' said Lisa Curtis, a former Trump aide who directs the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Read: Modi Returns to US With Lost Clout as Stock, Economic Boom Fades That may not be enough. Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs on India in return for its high levies on US goods and he's vowed to soon enact 'reciprocity' on all nations when it comes to import duties — a move that would hit India harder than most major trade partners. Underscoring that view, top Trump economic aide Kevin Hassett told CNBC this week that India's tariffs on US imports were 'enormously high' and said Modi 'has got a lot to talk about with the president.' And White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday she expected the tariffs to be announced before Modi visited the White House. 'It's very simple logic as to why the President wants to impose reciprocal tariffs,' Leavitt said. 'It's the golden rule, which we all learned when we were growing up in school, treat others the way you want to be treated.' Modi arrived in Washington on Wednesday and met with Trump's newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, with the two discussing bilateral intelligence cooperation, according to a readout from India's External Affairs Ministry. Modi is set to meet with Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. India's stock market slumped ahead of Modi's meeting with Trump, with the MSCI India Index on Wednesday touching its lowest level since early June, taking its losses for the week to as much as 4.6%. Some in Modi's administration are concerned that his early overtures may not yield much from the new president, and say it's not clear what, if anything, Trump is seeking from New Delhi, people familiar with the matter said. They also worry that India has few backers among immigration and foreign policy hardliners in Trump's government, in particular on the issue of H-1B visas for skilled workers, they said. Read: Why Trump's Inner Circle Is So Divided on H-1B Visas: QuickTake The unease underscores the stakes for India going into Thursday's meeting. Modi is among the earliest batch of foreign leaders to meet with Trump since he returned to office, and their summit follows a series of personal phone calls and lower-level meetings between their governments. 'President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are focused on deepening the US-India strategic partnership across defense, energy, technology and fair trade,' said Brian Hughes, a US National Security Council spokesman, in a statement, adding that the leaders share 'warm ties.' India's Ministry of External Affairs didn't immediately respond to an email seeking further information. Another issue hanging over the gathering that might not be formally discussed is the US allegations of bribery leveled during the Biden administration against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, a close associate of Modi. Adani has denied the charges, and it now rests with Trump's Justice Department to determine how aggressively to pursue the case. Read: Adani Builds US Influence Machine While Trump Reins in DOJ Cases For all their differences, there's little doubt that India has become an increasingly important partner for the US, especially when it comes to pushing back on China. American companies including Apple Inc. and Starbucks Corp. have turned to India as an engine of growth or as an alternative to having supply chains moored to China. India is also an active partner with the US, Australia and Japan in the 'Quad,' an informal bloc with shared economic and security interests that often draws Beijing's criticism. At the same time, India is a leader of the so-called Global South, particularly through the BRICS grouping with Brazil, Russia and South Africa that is frequently at odds with US priorities. And India continues to be a major buyer of Russian oil and weaponry. Read: India Is Building a Sanctions-Proof Supply Chain for Russian Oil Despite all that, ties with India have generally received bipartisan support in Washington and the US president has been seen positively in India. Trump's 2020 visit — billed 'Namaste, Trump' — received blanket coverage in the Indian media, and was preceded a year earlier by a trip Modi took to Houston dubbed 'Howdy, Modi.' But Trump has long used trade balances as a lens for rendering judgment on other nations, and that tendency isn't likely to change. The $41 billion US trade deficit with India in 2023 put it 10th overall, just behind South Korea. On the campaign trail, Trump said India was a 'very big abuser' of its trade ties with the US. Modi is going into this week's meeting prepared to discuss further reducing India's import duties, as well as purchasing more energy and defense equipment from the US, Bloomberg News has reported. Harsh Shringla, a former Indian ambassador to the US and former Indian foreign secretary, signaled that's the approach most likely to resonate with Trump. 'The way out of this is to provide the United States a window that would enable it to get a better access to the Indian market, and vice versa,' he said. --With assistance from Justin Sink, Akayla Gardner, Shruti Srivastava, Hadriana Lowenkron and Josh Wingrove. (Adds details of Modi's arrival in Washington in paragraph 10 and link to X post) Elon Musk's DOGE Is a Force Americans Can't Afford to Ignore The Game Changer: How Ely Callaway Remade Golf How Oura's Smart Ring Bridged the Gap From Tech Bros to Normies Why Fast Food Could Be MAHA's Next Target Trump's Tariffs Make Currency Trading Cool Again After Years of Decline ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
