America’s Foreign Policy Priorities Under Trump – OpEd |
For much of the past decade, U.S. policy toward South Asia seemed settled. India was the indispensable partner, Pakistan the perennial problem. Washington invested political capital, defense cooperation and diplomatic patience in New Delhi, while Islamabad was treated as unreliable, opaque and strategically expendable. Yet by the end of 2025, that orthodoxy had quietly collapsed. President Trump’s unexpected policy turn on Pakistan marks not just a tactical adjustment, but the end of Washington’s India-first era.
At the start of the year, relations between Washington and Islamabad were deeply strained. Pakistan was widely viewed as diplomatically isolated, economically fragile and entangled with actors Washington mistrusted, from the Taliban to Beijing. Despite modest economic recovery after devastating floods, its dependence on external financing reinforced perceptions of weakness. Within the U.S. national security establishment, Pakistan’s powerful military was often caricatured as a double-dealing institution incapable of sustained counterterrorism cooperation. Analysts warned openly that the country faced its gravest security challenges in decades.
Against this backdrop, the Trump administration’s early instincts were predictable. Strengthen India as a democratic counterweight to China. Reinforce the Quad. Marginalize Pakistan as a secondary player whose relevance had peaked during........