Donald Trump is facing a dilemma. Just as he was thinking that he would carry forward his America First policy by withdrawing from Afghanistan with help from Pakistan, India queered the pitch by ending the special status of Jammu & Kashmir. A piqued Pakistan, supported by China, tried to internationalize the issue but did not get traction in the UNSC. Pakistani PM Imran Khan started indulging in "extreme rhetoric" and India responded in kind. The US establishment was alarmed. It has always considered Kashmir to be a nuclear flashpoint given the arsenal of both India and Pakistan and the unpredictability of the Pakistani regimes and this time it felt that things could go out of hand.
Hence, when Trump had a talk with Narendra Modi who expressed his concern at the "extreme rhetoric" by Pakistani leaders, Trump, was quick to tell Imran Khan to moderate the same. Even though Trump might have been reluctant to needle Pakistan at this juncture, the thoughts of having a nuclear war if things went out of hand must have prompted him to ask Khan to be more restrained in his comments. It is precisely for this reason that the US President has once again offered to mediate although he knows that India will not agree to it. Although concerned about a nuclear war erupting between India and Pakistan, Trump is more concerned about his America First policy and getting out of Afghanistan with head held high. He knows he will need Pakistanâs help to do so. Hence, he has to walk a diplomatic tightrope as of now.
Pakistan has always tried to link Kashmir and Afghanistan. It knows that the US needs it now more than ever. Hence, it is trying to tighten the screws. But the government in Afghanistan has been quick to respond. It has called the bluff of Pakistani authorities by stating that Kashmir is Indiaâs internal matter and Afghanistan needs an independent solution. Donald Trump will also have to recognize this. He will have to tell the Pakistanis that the two cannot be linked and they cannot get anything in Kashmir by helping in Afghanistan. The US has already stopped huge funds it used to give Pakistan in aid. The cash-strapped regime in Pakistan will have to toe the US line if it wants resumption of the aid. The US knows this and will use it to its advantage.
