This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed "The people have spoken" carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writer, Rashed Rahman, has presented a highly informed perspective on how the US presidential election 2020 has played out so far. That the US presidential election was unprecedentedly tense is a fact. The writer has plausibly argued, among other things, that "Pakistan, as usual, pitches high hopes from every new occupant of the White House. However, while Biden may continue to work with Islamabad in the Afghan theatre, the unrealistic hopes of some that the Kashmir conflict will see a more sympathetic treatment seem exaggerated. The US's commitment to forge an anti-China alliance with India is unlikely to allow too much change in Washington's policy towards the Kashmir issue. Sadly, that means the suffering Kashmiri people continue to be virtually alone in their struggle for self-determination and against oppression."

One of the legacies of the outgoing US President Donald Trump will be the US-China trade war that he initiated to fix it what he said 'in favour of the US'. This trade war has harmed the US-China relations in a meaningful manner. In my view, one of the first priorities of the new incumbent in the White House, Joe Biden, will be to devise a policy aimed at arresting the slide in the Sino-US relationship on an urgent basis.

Nargis Khanum (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020