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Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s recent phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio marks both their first direct interaction and the first high-level diplomatic engagement between the Pakistani government and the incoming Trump administration. As with all such exchanges, this initial contact helps set the tone for the bilateral relationship moving forward—and in this case, it reveals a continuation of an already cooling dynamic. The call’s brief duration, the delay with which it came after President Trump’s inauguration, and the restrained language used all suggest that Pakistan-US ties remain low on Washington’s list of priorities.
With the Afghanistan war no longer a focal point, this disengagement is likely to persist. However, the shifting global landscape—particularly the intensifying US-China rivalry and the emergence of a global trade war—adds a layer of complexity that could unexpectedly impact bilateral ties. BZU administration evicts illegal occupants To his credit, Foreign Minister Dar maintained Pakistan’s firm stance by urging the US to take responsibility for the situation it left behind in Afghanistan—particularly in tracking and neutralising the military equipment that has fallen into the hands of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and is now being used against Pakistani targets.
Moreover, counter-terrorism cooperation is more critical than ever. Where the two countries once worked together to target militants in Afghanistan, those same groups are now turning their attention to Pakistan. Yet, despite the seriousness of these concerns, it is hard to imagine Washington giving them much attention amid its current geopolitical focus.
The Trump administration’s gaze is increasingly fixed on securing access to rare earth minerals and other key resources that are becoming strategically vital in the context of the US-China trade war. The fact that a private US delegation has already visited Pakistan to explore mining opportunities further underscores this point. It signals where American interests lie and suggests the nature of future relations: transactional, economically driven, and with little room for political or military engagement.
This, in all likelihood, will define the US-Pakistan relationship over the next four years. Gaza rally flays criminal silence of Muslim world over Palestinians’ bloodshed Tags: pak us ties.
