CSS 2024 Solved Current Affairs Past Paper | US-Pakistan Relations under the Joe Biden Administration
The following question of CSS Current Affairs 2024 is solved by Sir Ammar Hashmi, the best Current Affairs Coach, on the guided pattern of Sir Syed Kazim Ali, which he taught to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question Breakdown
The question has one main part. It requires a critical evaluation of the US-Pakistan relationship under President Joe Biden, keeping in mind the US Indo-Pacific strategy.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Pakistan’s relation with the U.S.A., the Theory of Convergence and Divergence
3-Pakistan-US Relations under Biden Administration
- ✓Decreased Economic Aid
- Case Study: The USAID states that economic aid to Pakistan has decreased by fifty percent.
- ✓Decreased Military Assistance
- Case Study: As reported by SIPRI, the U.S.A.’s military assistance and aid to Pakistan have decreased by 75 percent, from 1.2 billion U.S.D to 300 million U.S.D.
- ✓Strategic Partnership with India
- Case Study: According to SIPRI, India has become the U.S.A.’s largest military machinery trading partner, with sales to India increasing by 500 percent.
- ✓Concerns Over CPEC
- Case Study: Despite Pakistan’s participation in the BRI, the U.S.A. has expressed concerns over the project’s sustainability.
- ✓Mistrust between Pakistan and the U.S.A.
- Case Study: As reported by the Pew Research Center, seventy-five per cent of Pakistanis hate the U.S.A., for the U.S.A. has conducted drone attacks in Pakistan’s territories without consent.
4-Critical Analysis
5-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The world that we live in today has been through many phases of development since the beginning of the twentieth century, ranging from unilateralism to multilateralism. These developments and literalism, in the past, have mainly been shaped by the geographical and strategic importance of the nations in the world. However, as time passed, the geostrategic factors behind these developments were replaced by geo-economic factors. For instance, in the past, only those countries such as Pakistan were given value, whose geographical presence was important. In today’s era, the countries with geo-economic value lead the race; for example, Scandinavian countries, East Asian countries, and Europe. The shift in the factors has also affected Pakistan’s relations with its previous allies, including the U.S.A. When Pakistan was necessary for the U.S.A. geostrategically, the U.S.A. would help Pakistan and would support it via military and economic aid. However, owing to the shift in the world order and the determining factors, such as geographical, strategic, and economic, Pakistan lost its glory in the eyes of the U.S.A., leading to a decrease in the intensity of the relationship the countries had in the past.
The Theory of Convergence and Divergence
To understand the relationship between two countries, such as Pakistan and the U.S.A., as some scholars suggest, one should look at their national interests, common enemies, weaknesses and strengths. The theory of convergence and divergence implies the same thing but with an explanation. Whenever their interests met at the same point, their alliance strengthened, as seen during the Cold War; Pakistan needed military support against India, while the U.S.A. needed support against Russia and communism. They helped each other, keeping in view their national interests. Later on, after the 9/11 attacks, convergence happened, and then again in the Musharraf era. Contrastingly, after the U.S.A.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Cold War, both countries diverged in their interests, weakening their alliance. The same divergence happened when Pakistan left SEATO and CENTO, and finally, after 2018, when there was mistrust between the two countries on the cypher issue. These arguments and the theory explain the main reason for frequent fluctuations in the relationship between the two states.
Biden’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Pakistan
To begin with, it is imperative to shed some light on how the U.S.A.’s Indo-Pacific policy under Joe Biden influences Pakistan-U.S.A. relations. For instance, owing to the factors discussed above, Joe Biden has essentially followed the divergence strategy, for the U.S.A. under Biden has neglected and devalued what Pakistan has done for the U.S.A. when the latter needed help.
- Reduction in economic aid:
Consequently, the U.S.A.’s economic aid to Pakistan decreased significantly during Biden’s era. For example, before 2020, economic aid to Pakistan from the U.S.A. was around 1.8 billion USD, while as of now, it is only 900 million USD, a decrease of about fifty per cent. Moreover, the U.S.A. has made its economic aid to Pakistan conditional, for it blames Pakistan for not countering terrorism up to the mark. The USAID also acknowledges these arguments, clarifying the divergence between Pakistan and the U.S.A.
- Reduction in military assistance:
Second, the U.S.A. has also decreased its military assistance to Pakistan significantly. As stated by SIPRI, the U.S.A.’s military aid to Pakistan was 1.2 billion USD before the era of Joe Biden. Still, during his era, there was an abysmal drop in assistance to Pakistan, 300 million USD, a seventy-five per cent drop in military aid. Almost all of this decrement happened under the Biden Administration. Not only this, but the military exercises between the two states have been going down the slope, making the USA’s stance towards Pakistan clear, a divergence strategy. The implications are mainly for Pakistan, such as security dilemma, decreased strategic strength, and low deterrence capacity towards India.
- Strategic partnership with India:
Third, the U.S.A., while adopting the policy of bandwagoning towards Pakistan, has been developing good bilateral relations with India to pressure Pakistan. There has been a divergence regarding the U.S.A.’s increasing ties with India in security and technological spheres. Pakistan fears India becoming militarily and technologically advanced, making it hard for Pakistan to cope with it. As stated by SIPRI, the trade between India and the U.S.A. in military equipment and technology has risen to about five hundred per cent, mainly under the Biden Administration. The aim behind this is to pressurize Pakistan to part ways with China, the arch-rival of the U.S.A. and the natural ally of Pakistan.
- Concerns over CPEC:
Fourth, the U.S.A. has also criticized China’s BRI project, one of the recipients of which is Pakistan. The U.S.A. fears China’s dominance as the new world hegemon and strongly criticizes China and all those involved in the project. To counter it, the U.S.A. has launched many projects with the help of Europe, India, and many other allied states. BRI is also one of the reasons why the U.S.A. has adopted the divergence strategy, for they want to pressure Pakistan and counter China in the Indian Ocean. BRI is the only bone of contention in their way. So, the U.S.A. has adopted the strategy of divergence to safeguard its national interests.
- Mistrust between Pakistan and the USA:
Last but not least, the most crucial factor that has led to the divergence strategy between the two states is mistrust. Moreover, the mistrust is not only between the state’s administrations but also among the people of these states. The U.S.A. considers the Pakistanis terrorists, hurting the sentiments of the Pakistanis. On the other hand, the Pakistanis hate the U.S.A. for drone attacks and terrorism in Pakistan and its neighbourhood. As acknowledged by the Pew Research Centre, around seventy-five per cent of Pakistanis hate the U.S.A. for using their land and drone attacks without their consent. All these arguments discussed above signify that the relations between Pakistan and the U.S.A. have deteriorated on a large scale in the present era, especially during the Biden administration.
Critical Analysis
Critically, it is evident from the above discussion that almost every country’s relationship with another country of the world is primarily shaped by their national interests. The same is the case with Pakistan and the U.S.A. The theory of divergence and convergence based on their national interests can easily define their relation. Moreover, owing to the military and economic strengths of the U.S.A., the latter has also been adopting the strategy of bandwagoning and coercive diplomacy towards Pakistan, mainly to force it to part ways with China. One can easily understand how and why the states have diverted from the state of being close allies by looking at the nature of these relations and the different and opposing national interests of these states recently.
Conclusion
Their national interests have shaped mainly the U.S.A.’s relations with Pakistan. Moreover, the Afghan factor, India factor, terrorism, and China factor have also been the determining factors of the relationship between the U.S.A. and Pakistan. However, in recent times, under the Biden administration, the U.S.A. has adopted the strategy of divergence due to opposite and contrasting national interests. For instance, the U.S.A. has decreased Pakistan’s economic aid and military assistance. Also, the U.S.A. has criticized the BRI project and has blamed Pakistan for terrorism as well. Looking at the circumstances, it is understood that the U.S.A. is looking and has almost found an alternative to Pakistan in the form of India.
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