By Muhammad Omar Iftikhar
January 20, 2021, will mark the last day of President Trump’s reign. His autocratic, oppressive, and dictatorial rule kept his Secret Service, officials of the White House, and the US national media at its toes. They had to counter-act when he would make an illogical statement during a press conference, create a diplomatic tussle, or share something inappropriate or confidential on Twitter. Such was the era of President Trump that is considered to be the wildest in US history when it comes to politics and diplomacy. The US, which rules the world as an influential power, became a laughing stock under his rule. However, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris may change the status quo. It is yet to be seen if this may eventually change how the US views the Eastern hemisphere including the Middle East, South Asia, Russia, and China. Biden is expected to realign Washington’s diplomatic endeavors with regional allies and the rest of the world. However, many expectations should not be hinged by Pakistan on Biden’s regime. After all, hailing from the Democratic camp were former US Presidents Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. In 1949, Truman invited the then Indian PM to Washington but Pakistan’s Liaquat Ali Khan was ignored. While US aid to Pakistan in 1962 (under John Kennedy’s Presidency) reached over $2.3 billion, one of the succeeding US (Democrat) President, Jimmy Carter, suspended all aid to Pakistan (except food). This was in response to Pakistan’s decision to construct a Uranium enrichment facility. Carter even wanted to ban all of Pakistan’s nuclear efforts. During Obama’s tenure (2009-2017), the US conducted over 350 drone attacks on Pakistan to eliminate extremist threats. Pakistan’s government must take calculated decisions at such times when the US Democratic camp has not brought positive outcomes for Pakistan’s political and socio-economic sectors.
