Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Pakistan may have backed the wrong horse in Washington. For two years, its leaders invested heavily in their relationship with Donald Trump to secure access to the White House and position Islamabad as a key player in US-Iran diplomacy. Now, after Democrats’ sweeping congressional victory, that strategy could expose Pakistan to tougher scrutiny. For ordinary Pakistanis, the same election result offers something very different: hope.
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Many households struggling with high fuel prices and a worsening cost-of-living crisis are looking at the Democratic victory in Washington as a possible opening for a change in US policy towards the war in Iran. They hope that a shift in Washington could eventually bring down oil prices and ease pressure on household budgets.
Pakistan, a country of more than 240 million people that relies heavily on imports, has been hit hard by the rise in energy costs due to the Iran conflict.
Residents interviewed by Reuters after US midterm elections said they wanted to see the political change in Washington translate into a change in the region.
“We believe meaningful negotiations with the current US administration are not possible, and the ongoing bloodshed will not end until there is a change in (the US) government,” Karachi resident Sajjad Ali told Reuters.
“We want peace, economic improvement and a reduction in the rising oil prices.”
Asim Zafar, another Karachi resident, said he hoped the election result would constrain Trump’s policies. “It could bring changes in important policies and perhaps help prevent some of the injustices being committed against Muslim countries,” he said. But while households are looking towards Washington with hope, Pakistan’s leaders have reasons to be nervous.
PAKISTAN PUT TOO MUCH ON TRUMP
For the past two years, Islamabad has invested heavily in building a relationship with Trump and his administration. That effort was driven in large part by Pakistan’s powerful military leadership, with army chief Asim Munir becoming a big channel between Islamabad and the White House.
Trump has repeatedly called Munir his “favourite field marshal”. Their relationship became particularly visible during a June 2025 lunch in Washington, which took place without Pakistani civilian officials present. According to Pakistan’s military, their discussions extended beyond security issues into areas such as mining, energy and cryptocurrency.
Pakistan then backed several of Trump’s diplomatic initiatives. It joined his Board of Peace and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, crediting him with helping end the May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan. New Delhi has rejected the claim that US mediation brought the fighting to an end.
The relationship became even more strategically important when Pakistan stepped in as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran during the Iran war. Islamabad relayed messages between the two sides and hosted April talks between US and Iranian officials. But the resulting Islamabad Agreement soon faltered.
That leaves Pakistan in an awkward position. Its leaders gained unprecedented access to Trump’s White House, but the relationship has so far produced limited economic benefits for the wider country.
THE ECONOMIC PAYOFF HAS BEEN LIMITED
For Pakistanis dealing with expensive fuel and everyday goods, diplomatic access has offered little immediate relief. There have been some economic gains. The US Export-Import Bank approved USD 1.25 billion in financing for Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper and gold project in December 2025.
But Islamabad’s much larger request for a USD 10 billion facility from the US Treasury remains unanswered. That gap is critical because Pakistan’s courtship of Trump was built partly on the expectation that close political ties would eventually produce economic benefits.
Instead, the Democratic takeover of Congress has now introduced another problem: scrutiny.
PAKISTAN’S TRUMP BET COMES UNDER FIRE
Several agreements pursued by Pakistan involve people or businesses connected to Trump, his family or his inner circle. That could become politically sensitive now that Democrats control both chambers of Congress and are expected to use their oversight powers to investigate aspects of Trump’s administration and foreign policy.
Pakistan has signed memoranda to explore payments in USD1, a stablecoin issued by Trump-linked World Liberty Financial.
At the signing in January, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said innovation should be “aligned with regulation, stability, and national interest”. Islamabad has also signed a memorandum concerning the redevelopment of New York’s Roosevelt Hotel. The deal was negotiated by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff.
Pakistan also placed a limited drone order with Powerus, whose investors include Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric. Asked about the Powerus arrangement in September, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters: “There are no conflicts of interest.”
The concern in Islamabad is not simply whether individual deals survive. It is whether Democrats will examine them closely and whether that scrutiny could damage Pakistan’s broader relationship with Washington.
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to Washington and senior fellow at the Abu Dhabi-based Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, said Islamabad had built a relationship with Trump’s team around transactions and access.
Pakistan’s leaders had “built a transactional relationship” with Trump’s team, he said. Some arrangements involving the US President’s friends and relatives “might not last”.
PAKISTAN STILL HAS SOME CARDS
The Democratic victory does not necessarily mean that Washington-Pakistan ties are headed for a collapse. Analysts say Islamabad still has issues that could command bipartisan support, particularly counterterrorism cooperation and its role in diplomacy with Iran.
Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council said Democrats could be more inclined to blame questionable arrangements on Trump rather than Pakistan itself.
That gives Islamabad some room to manoeuvre.
But far from Islamabad’s corridors of power, the election result is being viewed through a much simpler lens: petrol prices, food bills and the cost of getting through the month.
– Ends
With inputs from Reuters
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
