Change in White House

 

Munaza Kazmi

Past decades witness, a change in the White House is always followed by a shift in foreign policy shift of Islamabad. Moreover, every United States president comes with a new dogma that pointedly influences global geopolitics. Hence, it is predictable with Joe Biden taking the presidential position, Pakistan’s relations with the US and its allies will take a new turn.

 

By retracting the history, it could be assumed, with Biden’s holding of the White House, things might start in a refreshing manner. Since, Biden has historically looked upon Pakistan as a strategic regional ally. 

During his tenure as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden along with Senator Richard Lugar, promulgated the Enhanced Partnership Act with Pakistan 2008. Their efforts to strengthen the US-Pakistan relationship later culminated in the famous Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act 2009 after Senator Kerry became the Chairman of SFRC. The main aim of Biden’s effort was to improve the political and economic situation in Pakistan for regional stability.

 

Similarly, Biden also sees Pakistan as a valuable and trustful ally in the context of the Afghan problem. Since during his visit to Kabul as the vice president of the US, Biden advised to be “Silent” to Hamid Karzai when he demanded that the US should pressurize Pakistan diplomatically to curb its support for the Afghan Taliban. Biden countered this by asserting that “Pakistan is fifty times more important than Afghanistan for the US”.

 

Furthermore, a change in the White House will also alter Pakistan’s relationship with India. Well, it is unlikely that the diplomatic relations between Washington and New Delhi will change significantly under Biden, since India’s economic influence in South Asia makes it the only formidable force against Chinese expansionism. 

However, the Biden administration would likely strive to improve Indo-Pak relations through dialogue – something he explicitly endorsed during the Vajpayee-Musharraf talks as a US senator. Moreover, it is likely that, the US will diplomatically pressurize India to curb its human rights violations in Kashmir, as hinted at by Biden’s running Vice President Kamala Harris.

 

Finally, now when the power is transferred to Biden. The change might be what the people in the red-zone desire but cannot openly express. 

Though, Biden’s historical position and his views regarding Pakistan suggest that under him the Washington-Islamabad diplomatic exchange will flourish, and the US might resume its civil-military assistance to Pakistan. However, the point to ponder is that, the new administration might induce Islamabad to move away from Beijing’s influence because of the strained US-China relationship. Therefore, maintaining a good balance between the two powers is a job Pakistan’s foreign policy experts should undertake.

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