Pakistan's recently appointed prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, is making his first visit to the United States at a particularly rocky time for relations between Washington and Islamabad. Abbasi arrived in the country on Sept. 18 to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting. On Aug. 21, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech in which he accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism and asked for greater Indian involvement in the war in Afghanistan. To say that neither suggestion went over well in Pakistan would be an understatement.
The first high-level bilateral meeting between Pakistan and the United states after Trump's speech came on Sept. 19, when Abbasi met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. The two leaders struck a positive — if anodyne — tone, pledging to maintain constructive engagement. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua also announced that a U.S. delegation would be visiting Pakistan in October. Pakistan has blocked such visits since Trump's speech. Instead, the country's foreign minister has been on a four-nation tour — to China, Iran, Russia and Turkey — courting diplomatic support.
Regardless of the plans for diplomacy, the United States and Pakistan still have conflicting interests in Afghanistan. The powerful Pakistani army will resist U.S. demands to abandon its strategy of employing jihadist proxies as a foreign policy tool. Resource constraints also mean Pakistan will continue to be selective about which militant groups it targets with its anti-militancy operations. A baseline antagonism between the United States and Pakistan will endure through the months ahead, even if the diplomatic dialogue between them remains strong.
Abbasi will use his Sept. 21 address at the United Nations General Assembly to highlight his country's sacrifices in the war on terrorism and to shift negative attention onto his country's regional rival, India. Abbasi will raise the plight of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar which, in addition to being a subtle dig at India's supreme court case weighing whether to deport 40,000 Rohingya, will allow Pakistan to try on the mantle of global Muslim leader by raising an issue of resonance among Muslims. As well, Abbasi will draw attention to Indian human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to internationalize the dispute and to tarnish India's image as an inclusive democracy.
