A Critical Evaluation of the Evolving U.S.-Pakistan Relations

Abstract

South Asian countries, especially Pakistan, have always been of particular interest to the United States due to their important strategic location. Although the U.S. developed its strategic and military relations with Pakistan soon after its inception, U.S. policy towards Pakistan has been realist and episodic in nature. This has led to the development of a Patron-Client relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. Predominately, Pakistan-U.S. relations have been defined by U.S. interest in the region; the relations are cordial when the stakes are high for the U.S., and they turn cool when the U.S. has met its immediate objectives. The overall outlook of Pakistan-U.S. relations is of episodic nature in which the U.S. policy towards Pakistan is based on its interests in the region. However, with the emergence of other potential partners like China and Russia, Pakistan-U.S. relations are evolving to adopt the nature of a State-to-State engagement.