Pakistan ahead in race to win over the US

THE drastic improvement in US-Pakistan ties in recent months, especially after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, has adversely impacted New Delhi’s relationship with Washington. The US has brazenly ignored India’s contention that perpetrators and victims of terror should not be equated. There was a ray of hope for Delhi last month when the US designated Pahalgam-linked The Resistance Front, a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a global terrorist outfit. However, the optimism has proved to be shortlived. The US has labelled the Balochistan Liberation Army, a thorn in Pakistan’s flesh, as a foreign terrorist group, even as Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir recently ranted about Kashmir during his second trip to America in two months. Trade, tariffs, terrorism — America’s soft spot for the economically and politically unstable South Asian nation is as clear as daylight.

It’s obvious that Pakistan has been able to hard-sell itself effectively in the US corridors of power. That’s no surprise, going by filings with the US Department of Justice. Pakistan is spending three times more than what India does on payments to lobbying and strategic communications firms in the US. The aim is to gain greater access to the high and mighty in Washington and convince them to take decisions in their favour. The contrast is stark: Islamabad struck a trade deal with the US and managed to get its tariff rate down from 29 per cent to 19 per cent, while India has been saddled with 50 per cent tariff and the trade talks have hit a trough.

India needs to reach out to the White House, US Congress and government agencies more actively and doggedly. Delhi should impress upon Washington that Islamabad’s commitment to fighting terrorism is a mere sham. As the US is India’s largest trade partner and not the other way round, Delhi can’t afford to burn bridges on the economic front. Pragmatic diplomacy and smart lobbying can help India regain lost ground.