Pakistan Army chief Bajwa’s US go to: Are Islamabad-Washington ties in the course of a reset?

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s go to to the United States weeks earlier than his scheduled retirement is being seen as a part of Pakistan’s efforts to restore its strained relations with the nation in mild of former prime minister Imran Khan’s “American conspiracy” narrative.

On Tuesday, General Bajwa met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. An announcement by the Pakistan navy mentioned that the “regional security situation” was mentioned throughout the assembly. The Pentagon acknowledged that the dialogue was “focused on opportunities to address key mutual defence interests”.

Kamran Bokhari, a Washington-based international coverage analyst, thinks the aim of General Bajwa’s go to was to ‘cross the baton’ and reassure the Americans that these efforts to enhance ties will proceed. “Even before Imran Khan’s ouster, General Bajwa visited countries that Khan was upsetting such as Saudi Arabia, and tried to fix diplomatic hiccups that the then PM had caused,” Bokhari tells India Today, including that General Bajwa is doing the identical after Khan’s ouster, however with far more vigour.

“He was in DC to tell the Americans that it is in their interest to do business with Pakistan.”

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Meanwhile, the military chief put the rumours pertaining to his extension in service to relaxation whereas addressing a gathering at Pakistan Embassy in DC when he introduced that he would retire in November. Kamran Bokhari says this confirms that COAS Bajwa got here to the US to introduce his potential successor to the Americans in DC. The military chief was accompanied by Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Azhar Abbas — who’s one among his seemingly successors, notes Bokhari.

Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan ambassador to the US, agrees that General Bajwa’s go to is continuation of Pakistan’s efforts to undo the injury attributable to Imran Khan’s rhetoric. “The regime change narrative peddled by Khan negatively impacted US-Pak ties, but the civil-military leadership in Pakistan is determined to repair the damage,” he says, including that international minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was additionally centered on rebuilding ties throughout his engagements within the US.

Pakistan’s efforts to rebuild ties

Kamran Bokhari says the US goes via a studying section in relation to Pakistan, and the latest feedback made by the US officers verify that Washington is able to redefine its relations with the nation.

“There has been some learning on the Pakistan side as well, and General Bajwa’s desire to shift from geopolitics to ‘geoeconomics’ which became a buzzword reflects the changed thinking,” he provides.

Referring to General Bajwa’s makes an attempt at injury management, Bokhari says it was ironic that the navy that after enabled Imran Khan is now making an attempt to rationalise international coverage after he accused a sitting assistant international secretary of conspiring to oust him from energy.

Last month, Pakistan’s new international minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met US officers, together with Secretary of States Antony Blinken, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session. In his interviews to American media throughout his go to, the international minister reiterated that the 2 nations have been coming into a brand new engagement, terming his conferences with US officers “encouraging”. FM Bilawal additionally referred to as for sustained help for flood aid, and apprised the US officers of devastation induced within the nation.

According to Bokhari, the efforts being made by Pakistan’s civil and navy and management will bear fruit and the US-Pak ties might be reset. “The Americans now realise that there are robust civilian voices in Pakistan, and that the aid Pakistan is supposed to receive pales in comparison to the damage caused by floods in the country.”

Husain Haqqani, nonetheless, thinks there’s a lengthy solution to go earlier than Americans get thinking about Pakistan related once more. “There is a trust deficit among the Americans due to Pakistan’s questionable role in Afghanistan where the country was seen to be supporting the Taliban takeover in August last year,” he tells India Today.

“Pakistan’s only little relevance right now is due to its geographical location and the issue of terrorism, and only those Americans who are interested in these matters would take Pakistan seriously.”

(Ailia Zehra is a Pakistani journalist who serves because the Managing Editor of stories outlet Naya Daur Media-Friday Times)

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