From Pariah To Partner: Trump's Puzzling Pakistan Pivot

2025-10-02 05:01:49

(MENAFN- Asia Times) The scene in the Oval Office on September 25 would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. There sat Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and, more importantly, the country's powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Across from them was US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump, who hailed his guests as“very great guys.”
For Munir, it was his second intimate meeting at the White House this year, a level of access no Pakistani military leader has enjoyed in decades. The meeting was a symbol of one of the most unexpected and consequential resets of Trump's second term: the rehabilitation of Pakistan from a duplicitous pariah into a favored regional partner.

This was the same president who, in his previous term, had publicly castigated Islamabad for giving Washington“nothing but lies and deceit” and cancelled security aid.

The speed of the rapprochement has been dizzying. After years of being cold-shouldered by the Biden administration, Pakistan's military leadership has found a direct and receptive line to the Trump White House.

But the shift is not based on a newfound convergence of values or a grand strategic design. Instead, it is built on a series of tangible deliverables that appeal directly to the core tenets of Trump's“America First” worldview.

First and foremost was the arrest of Mohammad Sharifullah, the alleged mastermind of the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US service members. In March, acting on CIA intelligence, Pakistani forces apprehended the high-value target.

For Trump, this was a clear, unambiguous victory he could present to the American people-a contrast to the failures of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, in which his administration was implicated. It was a debt paid in a currency Trump understands: decisive action against those who have harmed Americans.

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