Donald Trump’s 3 Cabinet picks send shockwaves in Pakistan

While President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are focusing on building a strong united team for his incoming cabinet, his choices for several key posts has sent shockwaves in many parts of the world, including Pakistan. The 47th US President’s cabinet would consist of billionaires, firebrands, Indian-Americans and some relatively controversial figures.
The Express Tribune, a Pakistani English daily, stressed that Pakistan may not be in the priority list of the US foreign policy, but policymakers in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi are shocked by the announcement and are closely monitoring some of Trump’s picks for important positions in his second administration.
Pakistan is mostly concerned about the statements issued by some key leaders in the US on India and Islamabad, according to the Pakistani outlet.
Given that several Trump’s nominees, like Marco Rubio, John Ratcliffe, and Mike Waltz, are well-known China hawks who have vehemently favored a more hostile posture against Beijing, Islamabad’s all-weather ally. With this, Pakistan may find itself in a tough situation in maintaining a cordial relationship with the US.
Trump has already appointed his national security adviser, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the secretaries of state and defense—positions that are significant for Pakistan as well as the rest of the world, according to the report.
Mike Waltz, Trump’s nominee for national security advisor, is known to have a skewed opinion of Pakistan.
The Express Tribune report states that Waltz, a former member of the US military who went to Afghanistan and West Asia (Middle East), has pushed for pressure on Pakistan to step up its efforts to combat cross-border terrorism.
Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard for the post director of national intelligence, a broad position that includes managing the 18 US intelligence organisations, including the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the CIA.
According to the Express Tribune, Gabbard’s nomination, a former Democratic congresswoman who switched to the Republican Party in support of Trump, may not be a good pick for Pakistan.
Notably, Gabbard had backed New Delhi and urged Islamabad to address the terror threat coming from its soil during the February 2019 military standoff, which was caused by Indian airstrikes in Balakot, Pakistan, in retaliation for an horrific attack on Indian security forces in Pulwama, Kashmir. She had also mentioned how Pakistan was shielding Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda.
Also Read: Is Tulsi Gabbard the way to Vladimir Putin’s heart? Here’s how she became a darling of Russia’s state media
Senator Marco Rubio, a foreign policy specialist and former opponent of the president-elect, has been nominated for the role of secretary of state. The secretary of state serves as the president’s primary foreign policy advisor and is the nation’s top diplomat. If picked, he will lead the State Department and represent the US in negotiations and global affairs.
Rubio proposed an anti-Pakistan and pro-India bill in the US Senate in July.
In order to combat China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific area, the US-India Defence Cooperation Act sought to fortify the two nations’ defense alliance.
Along with cooperation in defense, civil space, technology, and economic investments, it recommended the United States provide India with American security support. In terms of technological transfers, it even insisted that India should be treated just like US treaty allies such as Korea, Japan, Israel, and NATO nations.
In addition, the bill demanded that the US Congress be notified about Pakistan’s use of proxy groups and terrorism against India. It emphasised that the US should not give Pakistan any security support if it was discovered to be involved in funding terrorism against India.
As of now, the US Senate has not accepted any of Trump’s Cabinet nominees since the process for confirmation has not started yet.