The United States extended Independence Day greetings to Pakistan on Thursday, and “appreciated” Islamabad’s engagement in counterterrorism and trade. This comes just months after a terrorist attack killed 26 people in J&K’s Pahalgam, which India claimed to be Pakistan-sponsored terror.
The US also stated that it is looking forward to exploring new areas of economic cooperation, including critical minerals and hydrocarbons, and fostering dynamic business partnerships which will promote a prosperous future for Americans and Pakistanis.
Recently, Islamabad has been able to make inroads into the Trump administration.
Pakistan Army Chief Asim Pakistan is back in US' decision-making circles after years of isolation amid intense lobbying by Islamabad and Washington's eagerness to reciprocate, notwithstanding its robust ties with India.
At the heart of this masterful manipulation is Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, whose calculated charm offensive has turned US President Donald Trump's once-hostile stance toward Pakistan back into a strategic partnership. Trump had famously slammed Pakistan during his first term as a country that gave the US “nothing but lies and deceit,” Trump had tweeted at that time: "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" During his second term, Trump though, has often praised Pakistan while irritating India with his rough remarks.
Munir has crafted his American trap with flattery, transactional diplomacy and strategic deployment of two high-stakes assets: Pakistan’s mineral wealth and a seductive cryptocurrency narrative.
US-Pakistan trade deal
Munir is courting US’ interests with access to Pakistan's untapped mineral wealth, particularly in resource-rich Balochistan, home to deposits of rare earth elements, copper, lithium and even oil (Trump has said the US and Pakistan will work together on developing Pakistan's massive oil reserves even though there is little evidence of such reserves).
Trump Jr. and his business associate Zach Witkoff (the son of Steve Witkoff, an American real estate investor whom Trump has made his special envoy), both of whom visited Pakistan a few months ago, returned greatly impressed, according to reports.
They were reportedly shown the potential of mineral and blockchain-based investment opportunities. These included cryptocurrency infrastructure projects tied to rare earth exports — a tantalising mix for the Trump family that has often blurred the lines between politics and business. It’s no secret that Trump has long viewed international diplomacy through a business lens. Pakistan played directly into this worldview by framing its cooperation as a stupendous deal -- minerals for American tech and energy needs, and crypto for financial innovation.
Declaring BLA a terrorist organisation
US also recently declared the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and The Majeed Brigade as foreign terrorist organisations while Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir was in the US to attend farewell of US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla, who had previously termed Pakistan a "phenomenal partner" in counter-terrorism and later got a top award from Pakistan.
The US designation of the BLA and The Majeed Brigade as foreign terrorist organizations (is not coincidental. The move effectively delegitimises resistance to Pakistani control over Balochistan, an area crucial for its mineral prospects but rife with insurgency.
Human rights concerns and separatist sentiments in Balochistan have long been a thorny issue for Western countries. But the US appears to have deprioritised these concerns in favor of strategic access to critical minerals, essential for electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors and clean energy. By backing Pakistan's crackdown on Baloch insurgents, the US stands to benefit in its larger contest with China which currently dominates global rare earth processing.
Has Munir flipped the script on America?
At General Kurilla's farewell, Munir issued a wider nuclear threat to India, warning: "We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us." Munir's wild comment made from US soil shows his confidence stems from his ability to turn the US away from India and back into strategic partnership with Pakistan.
India, long seen as the natural US partner in South Asia, may view this pivot with deep concern. The Trump administration’s sudden warmth toward Pakistan could complicate the US-India strategic relationship especially when Trump has imposed steeply 50% tariffs on India while going soft on China. The American pivot towards India and away from Pakistan had happened as it saw India as a tool to counter China. For India, the US-Pakistan bonhomie suggests that even deep strategic ties can be overshadowed by transactional politics and personality-driven diplomacy.
Whether one calls it a trap or a strategic masterstroke, Munir’s campaign has paid dividends. By recognising Trump’s vulnerabilities -- his need for flattery, deal-making instincts and hunger for legacy -- Pakistan has repositioned itself from being a problem to being a partner. It has cleverly used the tools of modern diplomacy, from crypto to critical minerals, to recast its strategic value to the US.
What remains to be seen is whether this warmth will survive for long. Trump's foreign policy is known to be volatile and India can't be removed entirely from American strategic calculus. Despite differences on trade, India-US strategic partnership is still intact. While Munir has laid a well-crafted trap for the US, which appears to be walking into it, Pakistan's inability to deliver what it has promised -- or India's ability to emphasise its value to the US -- can lead to Munir's quick fall from US favour.
The US also stated that it is looking forward to exploring new areas of economic cooperation, including critical minerals and hydrocarbons, and fostering dynamic business partnerships which will promote a prosperous future for Americans and Pakistanis.
Recently, Islamabad has been able to make inroads into the Trump administration.
Pakistan Army Chief Asim Pakistan is back in US' decision-making circles after years of isolation amid intense lobbying by Islamabad and Washington's eagerness to reciprocate, notwithstanding its robust ties with India.
At the heart of this masterful manipulation is Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, whose calculated charm offensive has turned US President Donald Trump's once-hostile stance toward Pakistan back into a strategic partnership. Trump had famously slammed Pakistan during his first term as a country that gave the US “nothing but lies and deceit,” Trump had tweeted at that time: "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" During his second term, Trump though, has often praised Pakistan while irritating India with his rough remarks.
Munir has crafted his American trap with flattery, transactional diplomacy and strategic deployment of two high-stakes assets: Pakistan’s mineral wealth and a seductive cryptocurrency narrative.
US-Pakistan trade deal
Munir is courting US’ interests with access to Pakistan's untapped mineral wealth, particularly in resource-rich Balochistan, home to deposits of rare earth elements, copper, lithium and even oil (Trump has said the US and Pakistan will work together on developing Pakistan's massive oil reserves even though there is little evidence of such reserves).
Trump Jr. and his business associate Zach Witkoff (the son of Steve Witkoff, an American real estate investor whom Trump has made his special envoy), both of whom visited Pakistan a few months ago, returned greatly impressed, according to reports.
They were reportedly shown the potential of mineral and blockchain-based investment opportunities. These included cryptocurrency infrastructure projects tied to rare earth exports — a tantalising mix for the Trump family that has often blurred the lines between politics and business. It’s no secret that Trump has long viewed international diplomacy through a business lens. Pakistan played directly into this worldview by framing its cooperation as a stupendous deal -- minerals for American tech and energy needs, and crypto for financial innovation.
Declaring BLA a terrorist organisation
US also recently declared the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and The Majeed Brigade as foreign terrorist organisations while Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir was in the US to attend farewell of US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla, who had previously termed Pakistan a "phenomenal partner" in counter-terrorism and later got a top award from Pakistan.
The US designation of the BLA and The Majeed Brigade as foreign terrorist organizations (is not coincidental. The move effectively delegitimises resistance to Pakistani control over Balochistan, an area crucial for its mineral prospects but rife with insurgency.
Human rights concerns and separatist sentiments in Balochistan have long been a thorny issue for Western countries. But the US appears to have deprioritised these concerns in favor of strategic access to critical minerals, essential for electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors and clean energy. By backing Pakistan's crackdown on Baloch insurgents, the US stands to benefit in its larger contest with China which currently dominates global rare earth processing.
Has Munir flipped the script on America?
At General Kurilla's farewell, Munir issued a wider nuclear threat to India, warning: "We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us." Munir's wild comment made from US soil shows his confidence stems from his ability to turn the US away from India and back into strategic partnership with Pakistan.
India, long seen as the natural US partner in South Asia, may view this pivot with deep concern. The Trump administration’s sudden warmth toward Pakistan could complicate the US-India strategic relationship especially when Trump has imposed steeply 50% tariffs on India while going soft on China. The American pivot towards India and away from Pakistan had happened as it saw India as a tool to counter China. For India, the US-Pakistan bonhomie suggests that even deep strategic ties can be overshadowed by transactional politics and personality-driven diplomacy.
Whether one calls it a trap or a strategic masterstroke, Munir’s campaign has paid dividends. By recognising Trump’s vulnerabilities -- his need for flattery, deal-making instincts and hunger for legacy -- Pakistan has repositioned itself from being a problem to being a partner. It has cleverly used the tools of modern diplomacy, from crypto to critical minerals, to recast its strategic value to the US.
What remains to be seen is whether this warmth will survive for long. Trump's foreign policy is known to be volatile and India can't be removed entirely from American strategic calculus. Despite differences on trade, India-US strategic partnership is still intact. While Munir has laid a well-crafted trap for the US, which appears to be walking into it, Pakistan's inability to deliver what it has promised -- or India's ability to emphasise its value to the US -- can lead to Munir's quick fall from US favour.
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