Trump’s second term: Pakistan-US ties entered a productive phase: Experts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan-US relations have entered a productive phase under President Donald Trump’s second term, with growing opportunities for trade, investment, energy cooperation and regional diplomacy, experts said at a discussion organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on Friday.
Speaking at an expert talk titled “Factoring Pakistan into Trump’s Transactional Foreign Policy,” Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, said the relationship had improved markedly following Trump’s return to office, largely due to his transactional approach and a shift away from past differences.
Kugelman attributed the improvement to Pakistan’s cooperation in counterterrorism, its performance during the May 2025 conflict with India, commercial offers in critical minerals and its growing geopolitical relevance, particularly its mediation between the United States and Iran.
He observed that the relationship’s tone had shifted from criticism to praise, although its substance had yet to match the positive rhetoric. Initial developments included memoranda of understanding on critical minerals, the first shipment of US crude oil to Pakistan and the lifting of restrictions on US soybean exports.
Discussing the recent US midterm elections, Kugelman said a possible Democratic control of Congress would have limited implications for bilateral relations, as foreign policy remained primarily the responsibility of the executive branch. He also noted bipartisan support in Congress for Pakistan’s peace mediation and its expanding role in the Middle East.
He called for a formal US review of its Pakistan policy, the first since 2017, to establish a sustainable framework that could survive changes in political leadership. Trade, energy, counter-narcotics cooperation, the US International Development Finance Corporation and Track II dialogues were identified as areas offering significant potential.
In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President of IRS, said Pakistan-US relations had entered a productive phase since the beginning of Trump’s second presidential term.
He highlighted Pakistan’s arrest and handover of a high-value terrorist in March 2025, President Trump’s role in defusing the May 2025 Pakistan-India conflict, the US designation of the BLA and its Majeed Brigade as terrorist organisations, regular high-level engagements and Pakistan’s role in facilitating peace between Washington and Tehran.
Ambassador Saleem said the United States remained the largest market for Pakistani exports, adding that both countries were keen to expand trade and investment, particularly in minerals and information technology. He said Pakistan’s close relations with both Washington and Beijing positioned it to serve as a bridge between the two major powers.
Maj Gen Dr Muhammad Samrez Salik (retd), Professor of Practice at NUST, said Pakistan and the United States were connected through geography and history, but Islamabad now faced the challenge of balancing its relations with Washington and Beijing.
He said Pakistan could play a constructive role in helping the two powers avoid the Thucydides Trap, adding that their interests also converged on issues concerning Iran and rare earth minerals.
Dr Musarat Amin, Associate Professor and Head of Department at JSPPL, NUST, stressed that Pakistan should focus on securing tangible economic benefits from its engagement with the United States.
She called for stronger institutional linkages, engagement with both Republicans and Democrats, and expanded people-to-people and educational exchanges to ensure continuity in bilateral relations.
In his concluding remarks, Dr Rizwan Naseer, Senior Research Fellow at IRS, said Pakistan-US cooperation was gradually shifting from aid to trade, particularly in the mining and minerals sectors.
He said Pakistan’s mediation efforts between Iran and the United States had earned international recognition and expressed optimism that bilateral relations would continue to improve irrespective of which political party controlled the White House.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026