File photo. Saul Loeb—AFP
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s repeated blaming of “geopolitics” for his failure to revive a stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout is an indirect accusation of the U.S. seeking to “punish” Pakistan as part of its bid to contain China in Asia and the Middle East. Apart from pressuring Pakistan through its economy, Washington is also seen as ramping up support for India in its anti-China policy. This, in turn, increases India’s regional importance, a hard pill to swallow for Pakistanis fed on a regular diet of their “geostrategic” relevance. At a recent summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described India as a “trusted” trading partner that the U.S. was deepening its ties with to “diversify its trade away from countries that present geopolitical and security risks to its supply chain”—i.e. China.
It is no secret that the U.S.’ main challenge globally is the threat of China and Russia collaborating against its traditional dominance. It sees India as a means to “contain” China, conducting joint military exercises and inking foundational agreements normally reserved for Western allies, including reciprocal access to geospatial data from airborne and satellite sensors. Naturally, Indian strategists see this expansion of ties with great enthusiasm. Just as predictably, Pakistan views the developments with great unease as both it and India continue to shun any steps to normalize their bilateral ties.
Positively, Pakistan stands to gain from its Gulf neighbors moving past their historical rivalries at the urging of China—but this does not lessen the disappointment of having to deal with a U.S. inclined toward India as its favored partner in South Asia.