US-Pakistan Relations in the Biden Era: A Conversation with Moeed Yusuf
By Elaine Pasquini
On January 21, Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at Washington, DC’s Wilson Center, engaged in a candid conversation with Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan’s National Security Advisor and special assistant to the prime minister on national security and strategic policy planning.
“Today, US-Pakistan relations are crisis-free, but it faces an uncertain future under the Biden administration,” moderator Kugelman put forth in opening remarks.
Going forward, a bilateral relationship between the US and Pakistan should be candid, honest and “realistic on what we can achieve,” Yusuf said. “Both sides have faltered on this in the past.”
The Biden administration should not focus on Pakistan only through the Afghanistan lens, Yusuf stressed. “The goal has been to put the Afghans who matter in the room. Get the US involved and leave the room. That is exactly what Pakistan has done. Whatever Pakistan can do to facilitate and push whichever side, we are doing and will continue to do. But it’s the people sitting in the room who must make the decisions.”
“We are available to facilitate peace in Afghanistan and ultimately we do not want any violence or terrorism in our region,” Yusuf continued. “But we can’t be in a situation where Pakistan is seen as the potential solution to all problems and when the solution does not come, then Pakistan is seen as the reason for all evils. That is the old conversation that we have to get away from if we want a real relationship that’s a broader relationship where we really can benefit both sides.”
In Yusuf’s opinion, investment partnerships should be the first topic of discussion between Washington and Islamabad. “In conversations about CPEC [ China–Pakistan Economic Corridor] not all is positive in Washington,” he said. “How about an American reprocessing zone? How about American companies coming, investing money, reprocessing for export and sending whatever they want. How about doing things economically where there can be Pakistan-US-China co-investment?”
Continuing the conversation on US-China, Yusuf noted, “A lot of people say ‘well Pakistan is in one camp or the other.’ Just let me tell you very clearly that we are simply not in inter-camp politics. It simply does not suit us.…I think that Pakistan is one of the very few countries that can play a helping role for the US and China on areas where they do converge and want to work together.”
Yusuf went on to explain how today the Biden administration will be dealing with a very different Pakistan whose formal vision is led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. “Pakistan is squarely in an economic security paradigm now,” he explained. “It is talking about its geo-economic location, not a geo-strategic location. We are talking about ourselves as a geo-economic melting pot that is ready to consolidate global positive economic interests in our territory… and providing the world with economic bases, not military bases. This is where we are going. We’re not 100 percent there, but it is a very different approach than in the past.”
Yusuf also pointed out areas of shared interests, including climate change, energy, agriculture and infrastructure development. “Why can’t we all co-invest in Pakistan and Afghanistan?” he suggested. “That is the approach we should be thinking of. There definitely should be conversations.”
Turning to India, which is a constant topic of conversation between the US and Pakistan, Yusuf noted. “Today, you are dealing with an India that is vocally and publicly talking about unilateral decisions to resolve problems, including the illegally occupied territory of Kashmir.
“One of the longest-standing UN disputes is Jammu Kashmir, illegally occupied by India,” he said. “We have seen what has happened there in the last two years. I have asked for normalization, human rights and following international law as a resolution.”
Pakistan also has a very clear principled stand on Palestine, Yusuf stated, “which is identical to its stance on Kashmir: obey international law, give people the rights that international law has given them, and, in Palestine’s case, it is a respectable two-state solution. Move away from that and Pakistan will not be on board. The prime minister of Pakistan has made it absolutely clear where we stand.”
In conclusion, Yusuf pointed out that Pakistan “is totally 100 percent open to improving relations with the US and moving forward on a very new agenda. We expect the same from the other side and I am sure that the new administration is already thinking along these lines … and recognizes the importance of Pakistan.”
( Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
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