US-Pakistan Relations Research Articles

Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Impact on Pak-US Relations

Conflict in Afghanistan, either Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or war on terror in post 9/11 period, has deep impact on Pak- US relations. In both the cases Pakistan got the status of the most important state strategically. It played important role as a front-line state to fight against the Soviet Union during Soviet attack of Afghanistan. As a result, America extended economic and military support to Pakistan. After the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, American Foreign policy towards Pakistan was changed; it stopped all kind of economic and military support to Pakistan and imposed sanctions on it. Again, in post 9/11 attacks on American soil, America decided to attack Afghanistan and it needed Pakistan’s logistic support. Pakistan extended the required support and again became an important American ally in operation in Afghanistan. Thus, we may say, that conflict in Afghanistan has deep impact on Pak- US relations.

Exploring the Dynamics of Pak-US Relations in Post 9/11 Era: Military Aid, Nuclear Proliferation and Regional Politics

Throughout history, Pakistan and the United States have experienced a complex and evolving relationship. This relationship has witnessed periods of cooperation, strain, and scrutiny, particularly concerning formal engagement, financial collaboration, military ties, and regional security matters. This study is critical because it illustrates the evolving geopolitical landscape by revealing how military aid and nuclear concerns have affected South Asian security. By highlighting strategic interactions between global powers and regional entities, this research contributes to the international relations discourse. To assess the state of US-Pakistan relations post-9/11, this study investigates counterterrorism, nonproliferation, and regional geopolitics. It examines how Pakistan's counterterrorism operations and regional security are influenced by US military support, as well as the impact of regional geopolitics on the partnership. Employing mixed methods research, the study reveals diverse perspectives on the impact of aid, including both cooperation and concerns regarding conditional assistance. Regional dynamics, such as Afghanistan's stability and India-Pakistan tensions, emerge as critical factors influencing the partnership's evolution. Challenges stemming from divergent interests and perceptions are also highlighted. Furthermore, the quantitative aspect indicates that gender influences the outcome variable, suggesting potential behavioral or attitudinal differences between men and women regarding the studied environment.

War on Terrorism in Pakistan: Security Challenges and Safety Prioritization

This paper highlights the dynamics of war on terror among the Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States of America. It provides the strategic importance such as political, economic and militarily interests in the region. This study also shows the policies and strategies adopted by the US and Pakistan to save their interests in the American led war on terror. War against terror or war on terror, is an internationally military campaign that was launched by the Bush administration. The fatalistic incident known as 9/11 happened in 2001 in which approximately 2700 people were killed and numberless of injured fettered the wall of international politics. After this incident the government of America and world community were very much aggressive to take revenge from Al-Qaida network based in the Afghanistan. This research tries to find out the answer of the research questions such as to analyze the Pak US relations since inception. American foreign policies towards Pakistan after 9/11. To analyze the policies made by Pakistan to combat terrorism domestically and strengthen political as well as military institutions. Furthermore to analyze the policies of neighboring states such as India and Afghanistan towards the Pakistan. To find out the answers of these research questions research has employed qualitative research methodology with interpretative approach with securitization theory. For data analysis descriptive and exploratory approaches has been used in this research. The core findings of the research that war on terror was combination of Mush and Bush to secure their interests in the region. Bush ruined the Al-Qaida network and Mush got an economic assistance. US showed the supremacy to the world by led a war on terror. Pak US relations make its flow towards an alliance against terrorist’s network in Afghanistan. War on Terror was a complex war and essence a question of territorial sovereignty. This war on terror put the whole region at risk.

US-Pakistan Relations: Examining Challenges to Sovereignty from 2008 to 2022

US-Pakistan Relations: Examining Challenges to Sovereignty from 2008 to 2022

Portrayal of PAK-US Relations in Elite Press of Pakistan and USA before and after 2018 General Election in Pakistan

The mass media play a pivotal role in portraying the images of various countries. Portrayal of Pak-US relations in the US media has always been a topic of interest for researchers. The proposed study focused on the portrayal of Pak-US relations in elite newspapers of U.S. and Pakistan i.e. The New York Times, The Washington Post, The News International and Dawn two years each before and after the 2018 General election in Pakistan. The objective of the study was to explore the nature of portrayal (favourable, neutral or unfavourable) given to the Pak-US relations by the mentioned print media with reference to Paulus foreign policies, importance and contribution of Pakistan in “war on terror”, Pak-US economic and strategic relations and domestic affairs of Pakistan. This study based on research questions “What was the extent of coverage given to Pak-US relations by elite press of Pakistan and America before and after 2018 general election in Pakistan?.” and Was there any difference in the amount of coverage given to the selected categories between selected press during selected time?" Out of 323 articles in context of Pak-US relations during selected time period, The New York Times published 49 (15.2 %), The News International published 114 (35.3), The Washington Post 55 (17.2%) and Dawn published 105 (32.5) articles. It is concluded that the 2018 General elections in Pakistan influenced the Pak-US relations. AFTER THIS EVENT, the US press changed its stance toward the portrayal of the Pak-US relations.

Challenges and Opportunities in Pakistan-US Relations and it’s Impact on Pakistan’s Foreign Policy

This article illumination on Pakistan-US relations and various aspects of their common history. There have been many vicissitudes throughout history, which have led to the phenomena of trust and mistrust as well as perceptions and misperceptions. An outline of this research has been prepared with regard to the relations between convergence and divergence of interests. Due to numerous and complex factors, the history of relations between Pakistan and the US has often moved in a roller coaster pattern. The two state’s bilateral relations affected by this multifaceted relationship, which has two distinct co-dependency and trust deficit methods. This article aims to highlight the issues of miscellaneous opinions and policies between Pakistan and the US over the distinctive national and international contexts that directly link the interests of the two parties and outline causes of interaction between them to survive during essential times of vicissitudes. This article described the convergent and divergent in Pak-US relations and this complex of two-pronged affair starting with the history of relations by the end of Musharraf's reign and beginning with the Pakistan People's Party govt. The current study has examined internal and external connections relating to Pakistan's national security in interactions with the United States and its effect on or implications for Pakistan's foreign policy.

MEDIA COVERAGE AND PAK-US RELATIONS: ANALYSIS OF TV NEWS FRAMING DURING PTI’S REGIME

Foreign relations of Pakistan (Pak) with the United State of America (US) have a very long history of Ups and Downs and remain central to the politics of Pakistan. Pak-US relations also remain part of political and public discourse during elections and during the tenures of different political parties in the Government. Political parties in power or in the opposition are discussed with reference to their approach to foreign policy towards the US. The current study aims at examining how Pak-USA Relations were seen through the lens of media coverage, during PTI Government, taking into account the issues of Military Cooperation; Afghanistan Situation; Regional Disputes; War on Terror; and CPEC. The study is based on the news coverage of Pak-US relations in primetime TV news bulletins of two eminent Pakistani news channels GEO and ARY. The Descriptive Content Analysis method is used as a tool of analysis. Data was collected by watching the news bulletin of GEO and ARY news from August 18th, 2018 to January 18th, 2018. Agenda Setting and Framing approaches have been employed to analyze the news bulletins. All hypotheses are proven statistically by using the “t” test. The finding of this study is that both news channels Geo and ARY give positive coverage related to Pak-USA relations. These news channels have almost the same frames used regarding Pakistan and USA relationships in their 9 pm news bulletin headlines. In these frames, GEO and ARY news channels show that the relationships between Pakistan and the USA were very good during PTI’s regime. Both countries were working bilaterally during this selecting time period. Keywords: Framing, PAK-USA Relations, News Channels, PTI, GEO, ARY

Aid, Politics and the War of Narratives in the US-Pakistan Relations - A Case Study of Kerry Lugar Berman Act

The author employs the decolonial perspectives to examine the politics and narratives surrounding the US Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, also called the Kerry Lugar Berman (KLB) Act.1 The act authorised the payment of $1.5 billion per year in non-military assistance to the government of Pakistan for the next five years, from 2010 to 2014, with a provision to extend funding for an additional five years on meeting specific benchmarks. The act was severely criticised and generated a debate in Pakistan. One of the significant differences from past practices was the inclusion of conditions aimed at increasing the Pakistani military's accountability and limiting funding use.

Pakistan – Taliban: A Paradoxical Relationship

This article analyses the complex relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban for over twenty years. The unresolved issue of recognition of the Durand Line as the Afghan-Pakistan state border has had a negative impact on the relationship. The author notes the divided nature of Pashtun society on both sides of the Durand Line and Islamabad's desire for a loyal government in Kabul that would not be strongly influenced by Pashtun nationalist ideas. The paper explores Pakistan's policy of combining support for the Taliban with US-Pakistan relations in an asymmetric alliance. The aim of the article is to show the extent to which Islamabad's policy of trying to please both the US and Afghanistan has been successful. The author concludes that Pakistan's Afghan policy is characterised by a lack of achievement on major bilateral issues. After the Taliban came to power, Islamabad's influence over Kabul diminished, the Pakistanis failed to persuade the Taliban to comply with international requirements in governing the country, the Pak-Afghan border was not recognised, Afghanistan's contacts with India intensified, Pakistan ceased to be an indispensable partner for the US in the Afghan track and Islamabad failed to persuade Kabul to withdraw support from the extremist Taliban Movement of Pakistan. In spite of all the setbacks, Islamabad still views its former Afghan allies as the primary means of maintaining Pakistan's position in Afghanistan, hoping to convince the Afghan Taliban to accept the changed international realities.

Pakistan's Foreign Policy in the Context of Z.A Bhutto: Towards Nonalignment

US withdrawal of military support during 1965, 1971, and 1975 led to a widespread perception in Pakistan that the US was an unreliable ally and had betrayed Pakistan. Initially, their relations were cordial but later on, this alliance became weaker especially during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government. Bhutto after taking charge of the government reshaped Pakistan's internal and external politics. He adopted new dimensions regarding Pakistan's Foreign policy goals. He tried to free Pakistan from US influence and dependence and desired Pakistan to acquire nuclear capabilities. The paper aims to throw light on the factors that led to the drift in Pak-US relations. The findings of the study concluded that Bhutto adopted socialist policies and promoted friendly relations with socialist countries like the Soviet Union and the Peoples' Republic of China. All these steps were against the US interests. Pakistan also abandoned SEATO and CENTO pacts during this phase.

Soviet Aggression in Afghanistan (1979–1989) and American – Pakistan Relanions

The impact of the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan in 1979–1989 on US–Pakistan relations on the basis of predominantly American-Pakistani documents and memoirs has been examined in the article. Soviet intervention in Afghanistan led to the deterioration of Soviet-American relations, the curtailment of “détente” and the escalation of the Cold War. One manifestation of this was the United States’ full support for the Afghan opposition. The USA needed Pakistan as allies in this policy but it was sandwiched between Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and unfriendly India, so it needed reliable allies. In addition, the Afghan opposition parties’ headquarters, Mujahedeen training camps were located in Pakistan with almost 3 million settled refugees. The USA and Pakistan were mutually interested in close cooperation.
 The conditionality of changing the format of US-Pakistani relations by the civil war in Afghanistan and the involvement of the USSR on the side of the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan have been proved. The relations between the USA and Pakistan in the 1980s developed in two directions: official and covert but under the Afghan crisis influence the United States gave in to its principles. Despite the dictatorial regime, violation of the conditions of nuclear non-proliferation the USA has significantly expanded its military-technical and economic assistance to Pakistan. This significantly strengthened the country's defense capabilities and position of M. Ziyaul-Haq’s regime and Pakistan has become in general one of the main allies of the USA in their support of the Afghan crisis opposition. The secret cooperation between the CIA and the Pakistani Interagency Intelligence in financing and supplying military property to the Afghan Mujahedeen, providing them with intelligence, assisting in the production and dissemination of propaganda materials was important. This had a marked effect on the Afghan war outbreak, greatly strengthened the Mujahedeen’s ability to resist Soviet troops, and significantly increased the disastrous consequences of the Afghan adventure for the USSR. After the Soviet troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan lost strategic importance to the USA, and most programs of US-Pakistani cooperation were curtailed.

Redefining Pakistan-US Relations in Post-Afghanistan Withdrawal Phase

Pak-US relationship has mostly been marred due to broken promises, disastrous misunderstandings, lack of trust, and exaggerated expectations from each other's policies. Pak-US engagement has always been absorbedly framed either to achieve short-term security-related goals or around the compulsions to meet common challenges, especially the US needs & interest in the broader regional environment. Concerning the geo-strategic environment, the relevance that the US accorded to Pakistan has always been restricted to Afghanistan, whether it was during the cold war, the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, or the post 9/ 11 US war on terror. The future of Pak-US relations in the post-US withdrawal from Afghanistan is full of uncertainty and the nature of US interest towards Pakistan has changed. The paper analyzes the historical transactional patterns of the relationship and compulsive factors, circumstances behind the US decision to alienate, abandon and impose economic and military sanctions on Pakistan, post-withdrawal complexities.

The troubled triangle: US–Pakistan relations under the Taliban's shadow

The troubled triangle: US–Pakistan relations under the Taliban's shadow

Friends or Foes: An Editorial Discourse on Pak-US Relations

Historically, the relations between Pakistan and United States have hardly converged. Pakistan closely cooperated with US on the issues related to stabilization of peace, counter terrorism and on the issues concerning the presence of Osama bin Laden and Haqqani Network in Pakistan. Haqqani Network has been a source of diplomatic tension between United States and Pakistan relations. Therefore, the current study intends to examine that how the editorials of two English newspapers of Pakistani i.e., Dawn and The News covered Pak-US relations during the coverage of Haqqani Network by using the method of critical discourse analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the portrayal of Pak-US relations in both the newspapers is sympathetic towards Pakistan and at times contradictory. Moreover, both the newspapers have covered maximum themes and discourses which emphasized on negotiations between the three parties, trust deficit, and US confused strategy.

DONALD TRUMP’S POLICY AND POSTURE TOWARDS PAKISTAN: THE EMERGING DYNAMICS AND DRIVERS OF THE BILATERAL TIES

Arguably, the growing estrangement between Pakistan and US predates President Donald Trump. Due to the divergent interests in Afghanistan and the region, the bilateral ties were already cracking under the chronic stress of mutual distrust and renewed acrimony between Washington and Islamabad. However, the unexpected election of Donald Trump as the US president further widened the gulf between the two countries with long history of transactional ties perennially vulnerable to disruption and discord due to periodic convergence and divergence of national interests. With his signature Twitter-borne diplomacy, Trump sought to tighten the screw on Pakistan by harping more vociferously and vigorously ‘on do more’ mantra than ever before. Today, the US has begun to view Pakistan from the Indian lens in order to appease New Delhi viewed as a critical strategic partner in her quest to contain China. The Indo-US deepening partnership has potentially tangible ramifications for the fragile strategic balance in South Asia. This scholarly endeavor seeks to dissect the dynamics and examines the drivers of the evolving shift in the US policy towards Pakistan-with unknown and unwarranted repercussions for the fragile regional peace and security. Keywords: Pak-US Relations, New US Afghan Strategy, Donald Trum

THE DISCOURSE OF CONFLICT AND MEDIA PROPAGANDA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SELECTED US NEWSPAPER EDITORIALS

The phenomenon of agenda-setting and cognitive hacking is at the heart of the entertainment medium in general and news medium in particular. Mass media has the discretion to choose certain news stories over others. Consequently, it is the media that decide to pick and choose numerous issues and aspects of news. Keeping this in mind, the paper explores propaganda, persuasion, and the operation of power through language in the discourse of conflict. The paper examines the selected editorials of the two mainstream American newspapers i.e. the “New York Times” and the “Washington Post”. The time frame for the collection of data is from turn of the century October 9, 2001 to August, 22 2017. Data has been collected from the archives of the e-papers of the two selected newspapers. Non-probability purposive sampling has been taken into consideration to select the editorials in the light of selected themes such as war on terror, nuclear proliferation, Pakistan’s military, Pakistan and South Asia and the US-Pakistan relations etc. The research is based on the theoretical framework comprising of the works of van Dijk, Laclau and Mouffee and McCombs. The research findings indicate that in the discourse of conflict, there are various linguistic choices, sentence structures and peculiar expressions of language, which are utilized to propagate an agenda, and therefore one-sided account of certain instances become a norm. The study is a testimony to this fact, and that is why in the selected sample language has been exploited to depict a bleak, gloomy and negative side of Pakistan. Pakistan has been portrayed as a country which implicitly and explicitly not just supports but endorses terrorism. Moreover, the use of syntactic style, sentence construction, and the notion of central and floating signifier throw light on the expression of power through language.
 

Pakistan’s relations with the US after the fall of Kabul

US–Pakistan relations are entering a new phase following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years and the Taliban’s rise to power in Kabul. Pakistan’s civilian leaders would like to see relations with the US focused less on security and more on trade and economic issues. But to the extent the US remains involved in the region, it will probably be for counter-terrorism purposes, not as an investor in or political partner of Pakistan.

Comparative analysis of editorial pages of Dawn and Jang to investigate the framing of US-Pakistan relations: Ten years before and after 9/11

This study is based on the comparative analysis of the editorial pages of Dawn and Jang to explore the framing of US-Pakistan relations ten years before and after 9/11. The time period selected for this study is presented in phases: Phase A from 1990 to 2000) and Phase B (from 2001-2011). The relation between Pakistan and the US during the above-mentioned phases can be categorized into periods of engagements (where Pakistan enjoyed the status of the most trusted ally without compromising its regional interest) and periods of disengagements (where Pakistan faced US sanctions and was left alone to deal with the aftermath of the Afghan war and the war on terrorism). Hence, the understudied period provides an interesting insight into how Dawn and Jang framed the issue of US-Pakistan relations on their editorial pages.

PAK-US BILATERAL RELATIONS UNDER BUSH ADMINISTRATION

Pak-US relations under Bush administration historically reached at its peak. It was the result of his doctrine known as ‘Bush Doctrine’. It resulted in constituting a fundamental shift in US foreign policy. This work tried to dig out that how Bush decided to framed his own strategies and way of using power and influence for the pursuit of USA national interests. Unlike president Clinton, president Bush focused on securing geo-strategic rather geo-economic interests. It is also tried to high light that what compelled Bush administration to tilt towards Pakistan. It includes especially inexorable geographical position of Pakistan in the region, so was preferred by US policy makers in this region. Bush even ignored US policy to promote democracy and supported undemocratic rule of General Pervez Musharraf, as his rule was inevitable to secure US national interests in the region. Authorities in Pakistan promised to assist US in its war on terror. It was the same role of Pakistan for which it was given the status of non- NATO ally. Bush Administration in return offered economic and military assistance to Pakistan. This study is based on qualitative insight to find out the real face of Pak-US relations under Bush administration. Secondary data including reports of different institutions, books, research articles and analysis by several scholars have been approached to furnish this work.

Aid and irritants in Pak-US relations in the wake of 9/11 incident

This paper analyses the nature of post 9/11 relations and its impact on South Asia especially Pakistan. Pak-US relations have been perplexing and intricate since inception of their relations. This relationship manifests the classical example of convergence and divergence of national interests. Client-patron state relations between Pakistan and United States measure level of interaction and commitments. The 9/11 was a hapless event, which drastically changed the scope of relationship and level of engagement. This dastard act was the tipping point of revitalized bilateral relationship in altogether different circumstances. United States was bent on hunting perpetrators of heinous act of 9/11 at any cost and it was not possible without cooperation and facilitation of Pakistan being next door neighbour of Afghanistan. Pakistan grabbed this opening to end international isolation and overcome its economic handicaps. Pakistan again became strategic partner of US in war on terror and being frontline state earned the title of the US major non-NATO ally. However, the relations remained fraught due to various allied factors such as distrust and lack of confidence. This paper tries to analyze the impact between aid given to Pakistan, in the context of irritants between civil and military regimes in Pakistan.