AGL 40.40 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.5%)
AIRLINK 129.25 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.11%)
BOP 6.81 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (3.18%)
CNERGY 4.13 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (2.48%)
DCL 8.73 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (3.31%)
DFML 41.40 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.36%)
DGKC 87.75 Increased By ▲ 0.75 (0.86%)
FCCL 33.85 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (1.5%)
FFBL 66.40 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (0.76%)
FFL 10.69 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.42%)
HUBC 113.51 Increased By ▲ 2.81 (2.54%)
HUMNL 15.65 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (2.76%)
KEL 4.87 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (1.88%)
KOSM 7.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-2.68%)
MLCF 43.10 Increased By ▲ 1.20 (2.86%)
NBP 61.50 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (1.65%)
OGDC 192.20 Increased By ▲ 9.40 (5.14%)
PAEL 27.05 Increased By ▲ 1.69 (6.66%)
PIBTL 7.26 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (15.97%)
PPL 150.50 Increased By ▲ 2.69 (1.82%)
PRL 24.96 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (1.63%)
PTC 16.25 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.06%)
SEARL 71.30 Increased By ▲ 0.80 (1.13%)
TELE 7.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.68%)
TOMCL 36.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.03%)
TPLP 8.05 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (2.55%)
TREET 16.30 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (6.54%)
TRG 51.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.27%)
UNITY 27.35 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
WTL 1.27 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (3.25%)
BR100 9,967 Increased By 125.2 (1.27%)
BR30 30,751 Increased By 714.7 (2.38%)
KSE100 93,292 Increased By 771.2 (0.83%)
KSE30 29,017 Increased By 230.5 (0.8%)

Trump cannot bear to sever the United States' linkages with "long-time" ally Pakistan, the New York Times warned early Sunday morning, saying such a move on his part could be detrimental for America and pave way for even better Sino-Pak relations. The publication went on to claim that Trump's aggressive and very globally audible admonition seems to indicate that he does not have a proper strategy in his plans.
"President Trump's bombast and the precipitous way the decision seems to have been made have led to doubts that Mr. Trump has a serious plan for managing the ramifications of this move," the publication added. Back on January 1, 2018, the American head-of-state had tweeted that the US had "foolishly" given Pakistan over $33 billion in aid over the past 15 years, adding that Islamabad gives "safe havens to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!"
The rhetoric has raised hackles in Islamabad, adding to the fears that the row could undermine Pakistan's support for American operations in Afghanistan. Pakistan, which is of crucial importance to the US due to the latter using the former's road and rail networks as well as the airspace to funnel supplies for its troops in Afghanistan, "could shut down American access at any moment".
It becomes a matter of even graver importance that Trump "has given no assurance that he would not make matters worse". A decision to withdraw or limit support towards the US may, alternatively, suggest an opening into the further enhancement of Pakistan's friendship with China, "which is already investing in major new infrastructure projects and expanding its international leadership".
If Trump was to realise how precariously the frail balance is being maintained at present, quite unlikely taking into account how he quickly supported Senator Rand Paul's proposal to "take the money that would have gone to Pakistan and put it in an infrastructure fund to build roads and bridges here in the US", he might consider other options.
Which is, to say, "Harness his new friendships with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates". However, that "would, of course, require quiet negotiations, not shouting". Nevertheless, the analysis concluded on one significant point: "President Trump cannot afford to walk away from Pakistan".

Copyright Independent News Pakistan, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.