Abstract:
The security and economic architecture of South Asia is in a
flux. US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new
South Asia policy in August 2017 has added to the
complexities. While his proposed strategy is not very
different from that of his predecessors, who saw Pakistan as
a breeding ground for cross-border terrorism in
Afghanistan and India rather than vice versa, his desire of
an increased Indian role in Kabul has created more
concerns in Islamabad. This policy can create further divide
in an already fragile and least integrated region, where
unresolved political issues, especially between the two
nuclear armed countries, i.e. India and Pakistan, still keep
on simmering. In this context, this paper analyses President
Trump’s South Asia policy in view of Pakistan-US relations
and the region.
