washington
Donald Trump is choosing his new team in America. This will be his second term as US President. Trump has selected many members of his new cabinet. The faces who have been selected in the Trump cabinet have given Pakistan sleepless nights. Among these faces is Tulsi Gobard of Indian origin, who has been targeting Pakistan in the past also. There is a lot of uneasiness regarding this among Pakistan’s policy makers, think tanks and all the officers of Pakistan Army. In fact, the new members of Trump’s team, including the Secretary of State, the Defense Secretary, the National Security Advisor and the spy agency CIA Chief, have all been vocal critics of Pakistan. Seeing itself rejected by American foreign policy, Pakistan has started making a new strategy. Take a look at those faces of the Trump government, which have troubled Pakistan.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Senator Marco Rubio has been made Secretary of State in the Trump government. Marco Rubio has introduced a pro-India bill in America. In this, concern has also been expressed about Pakistan. In such a situation, bells have started ringing in Pakistan’s military headquarters in Rawalpindi regarding Marco. Rubio’s proposed bill alleges Pakistan’s role in sponsoring terrorism against India. It was said that Pakistan is carrying out terrorist activities in India through government-backed proxy groups. In such a situation, he should not get any kind of help from America.
In this bill named ‘US-India Defense Cooperation Act’, Rubio had targeted not only Pakistan but also China. He had talked about increasing defense cooperation with India as a counter to China’s increasing interference in the region. According to the bill, America was advised to consider India along with Japan, Israel, South Korea and NATO as top allies in terms of technology transfer. Besides, it has also been said to provide complete security cooperation to India through cooperation in defence, technology, defense investment and civil space.
Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor
Another important name of the Trump administration, Michael Walts has also been a staunch critic of Pakistan. Pakistan’s eyebrows have also been raised by his becoming National Security Advisor. Waltz has in the past given strict advice to Pakistan regarding terrorism. He had said that terrorism cannot be a tool of foreign policy. Be it Lashkar-e-Taiba or any other terrorist organization, it will not be accepted. Pakistan government, army and ISI will have to come out of these. He blamed Pakistan for promoting terrorism. Besides, advice was also given to curb cross-border terrorism.
Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director
Tulsi Gabbard has also had a similar attitude. Tulsi, who got the important post of Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration, has been with India on cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. After the Pulwama attack in 2019, he openly supported India. Apart from this, she has slammed Pakistan for giving shelter to Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. Osama was killed in 2011 in a US Navy SEAL operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
John Ratcliffe, CIA Chief
The next CIA chief John Ratcliffe is known for his sharp stance towards China and Iran. He will also keep a close watch on the activities of Islamabad. In such a situation, analysts believe that in the coming times, it will be difficult for Islamabad to maintain relations with America. It is also certain that the pressure from America’s side on Pakistan’s PM Shahbaz Sharif to take action against terrorism and terrorists will increase. At the same time, it is also understood that Donald Trump’s cabinet selection is a message to Pakistan that Islamabad is not on their priority list.
