Assessing the Nature of Geopolitical and Geostrategic Summersaults in Pakistan-US Relations (2013-2023)

Abstract

The history of strategic partnership between Pakistan and the United States goes back a long way. In the backdrop of War against Terrorism, both nations jointly worked to eliminate religious fanaticism practiced by some hardliners harboring in Afghanistan but during the first term of President Donald Trump (2017-2021), the US focus shifted back to a transactional approach, taking advantage of Pakistan's economic vulnerabilities. Moving onwards, the somewhat hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 during the Presidency of Joe Biden provided Pakistan an opportunity to reevaluate its approach and role in the policies adopted by the US in the region, as political instability, economic challenges, and terrorism has become new normal in the country. By adopting a qualitative approach, the current study comparatively reviews the important developments took place in Pakistan-US relations during first term of President Trump and the first half of the successor US government of President Joe Biden (2013-2023). It finds that the bilateral relationships remained strained during the years nevertheless some improvement and joint working were seen after the regime change of April 2022 in Pakistan. It recommends that since Afghanistan cannot be neglected by the US policy makers therefore measures leading to political and economic stability in Pakistan are equally important for a subsequent and larger regional stability.