Should Pakistan Celebrate Biden’s win? Shafaqna Analysis

by Tauqeer Abbas
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As the world is predicting about the impact of Biden on the world affairs, Pakistani analysts are also viewing him as a good sign for Pakistan. Joe Biden is an old diplomat and has had cordial relations with Pakistan and that is the reason why Pakistan is rooting for him. 

In 2008, Pakistan had conferred Biden with the second highest civilian honor, ‘Hilal-e-Pakistan’. Joe Biden and Senator Richard Lugar were behind the proposal to bring $ 1.5 billion non-military aid to Pakistan. Lugar too was awarded the ‘Hilal-e-Pakistan’. Pakistani analysts feel that Biden as president will return the old era of diplomacy between the two countries.

His views about Pakistan intrigue the most. Unlike Trump’s scepticism about Pakistan’s role in the US war on terror, Biden has historically looked upon Pakistan as a strategic regional ally. Likewise, Biden also sees Pakistan as a valuable and trustful ally in the context of the Afghan problem. Shuja Nawaz, in his recent book “The Battle for Pakistan”, recalls that during his visit to Kabul as the vice president of the US, Biden gave a ‘shut-up call’ to Hamid Karzai when the latter demanded that the US should pressurise Pakistan diplomatically to curb its support for the Afghan Taliban. Biden countered this by asserting that “Pakistan is fifty times more important than Afghanistan for the US”.

Being well versed with Pakistan’s regional relations with its neighboring countries, he has spoken about the Kashmir issue and stability in Afghanistan on several international forums. During his visit to Pakistan in 2011, Biden stated “Our relationship, in my view and the view of President Obama, is absolutely vital to the interest of the United States, and I believe you believe it is vital to the Pakistani interest as well”, while addressing to the media.

He added, “There are those who accuse the United States of violating your sovereignty, I respectfully suggest that it is the extremists who violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and corrupt its good name”. He also said that along with Pakistani leaders, United States would work “to restore and strengthen sovereignty in those areas of the country where the extremists had violated it”, “a long-term, enduring partnership” is the only productive way forward for Pakistan and the United States, he asserted.

However, while on one hand, Biden had always been friendly with Pakistan and advocated  its regional stability and economic prosperity, on the other hand, it was also him who labelled Pakistan as “potentially the most dangerous country in the world” in 2007. It was the same Biden who during his during Vice Presidential debate in 2008 asserted “I promise you, if an attack comes in the homeland, it going to come from Al Qaeda planning in the hills of Afghanistan and Pakistan.” Not to forget the US drone strikes on Pakistan which Biden supervised during the Obama-Biden administration increased by 631 per cent.

However, his stance on Kashmir would strengthen Pakistan’s position on Kashmir in the international realm. He has been vocal about the Kashmir issue previously, and Kamala Harris as his Vice President now, can reiterate their position and pressurize India to halt the human rights violations and atrocities in Kashmir. On Biden’s campaign website, he has spoken in favor of Kashmiris in India in a policy paper named “Agenda for Muslim American community”.

He said “In Kashmir, the Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights for all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the internet, weaken democracy”. The paper further adds “Joe Biden has been disappointed by the measures that the government of India has taken with the implementation and aftermath of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act into law.

Trump’s isolationist policies had deteriorated US-Pakistan relations. Now with Biden in the office, one could hope for a cooperative approach towards Pakistan. Biden’s preference of global diplomacy and cooperation could pave way for a better strategic relations, and as he had asserted in the past during his visits to Pakistan, “a long-term, enduring partnership. Nonetheless, analysts suggest that Biden is the lesser evil of the two and would be better than Trump ever was for Pakistan. Some also suggest that it would make no difference on US’ position on Pakistan. However it will only time that will tell us that how Biden presidency helps Pakistan or pushes her to the corner.

 

Shafaqna Pakistan

pakistan.shafaqna.com

 

 

 

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