Tulsi, Rubio, Waltz: Why these 3 Trump Cabinet picks are alarming Pakistan

Pakistan may no longer be a US foreign policy priority, but policymakers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi are reportedly monitoring President-elect Donald Trump's key nominations closely

Several of Donald Trump's picks for his incoming Cabinet are keeping Pakistan's leadership on its toes as it attempts to formulate a strategy based on the United States (US) President-elect's choices for key posts, the Express Tribune, a Pakistani English daily, reported on Monday.

 

Noting that while Pakistan may no longer be a US foreign policy priority, the report said that policymakers in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the latter referring to the country's military leadership, are keeping a close eye on some of Trump's nominations for key slots in the incoming US administration.

 

Trump has already named his national security adviser, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief, and secretaries of state and defence -- positions the report noted matter not only for the world, but also for Pakistan. 

 

 

Highlighting the element of unpredictability associated with Trump's return to Washington, the Express Tribune reported that Pakistani leaders are already in the process of formulating a strategy based on the President-elect's choices for key positions. According to the report, the Pakistani government is particularly worried about the inclusion of a number of individuals who have previously made notable statements on Pakistan and India.

 

Here are the three Trump nominations that have Pakistan worried:

 

1) Marco Rubio

 

Trump has nominated Senator Marco Rubio, once a critic of the President-elect and an expert in foreign policy, for the position of secretary of state.

 

The secretary of state is the US' top diplomat and principal adviser to the President on foreign policy. They oversee the Department of State and represent the US in international affairs and negotiations.

 

In July this year, Rubio introduced a Bill in the US Senate that supported India and opposed Pakistan.

 

The Bill, called the US-India Defence Cooperation Act, aimed to strengthen the defence partnership between the two countries to counter China's growing presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

 

It proposed providing India with American security assistance, alongside collaboration in defence, civil space, technology, and economic investments. It even called for treating India on par with US treaty allies like Japan, Israel, Korea, and NATO countries regarding technology transfers. 

 

Pakistan also found mention in the Bill, which called for a report to the US Congress on Islamabad's use of terrorism and proxy groups against India. It stated that if Pakistani involvement was found in sponsoring terrorism against India, it should not be provided with any US security assistance.

 

At the time, it was the first Bill introduced in the US Congress that had sought to elevate India to the same level as treaty allies, exempt it from Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions, and impose sanctions on Pakistan for promoting terrorism against India.

 

As of July, the Bill had been read twice in the US Senate and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

 

Rubio is also known as a China hawk.

 

2) Mike Waltz

 

Trump has nominated Mike Waltz as his national security adviser, who, like Rubio, is noted for holding an unfavourable view of Pakistan.

 

According to the Express Tribune report, Waltz, who has served in the US military and deployed to Afghanistan and West Asia (Middle East), has been an advocate for pressuring Pakistan to increase its efforts to eradicate cross-border terrorism. 

 

3) Tulsi Gabbard

 

Tulsi Gabbard is the President-elect's pick for director of national intelligence, a wide-ranging role that involves overseeing the 18 US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

 

The nomination of Gabbard -- a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party to back Trump -- may not augur well for Pakistan, noted the Express Tribune report.

 

During the February 2019 military standoff, sparked by Indian air strikes inside Pakistani territory in Balakot in response to an attack on Indian security forces in Pulwama in Kashmir, Gabbard had supported New Delhi and called on Islamabad to deal with the terror threat emanating from its territory. She had also noted how Pakistan was found to be harbouring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. 

 

The report also took note of John Ratcliffe being nominated to head the CIA, adding that the CIA chief usually remains in constant contact with Pakistani authorities due to the US' counter-terrorism efforts. However, it did not indicate that Pakistan was particularly worried by this nomination.

 

Ratcliffe, a former director of national intelligence during Trump's first term, is known as a hawk on China and Iran.

 

It is to be noted that a US President nominates Cabinet members, who undergo US Senate committee reviews, hearings, and a full Senate vote requiring a simple majority for confirmation. Rejected nominees may lead to withdrawals or new nominations.

 

At present, none of Trump's Cabinet nominations have been approved by the US Senate given that the confirmation process is yet to commence.

 

What's next for Pakistan?

 

The Pakistani media report noted that despite some of the worrisome nominations, Pakistan is hopeful that its ties with the US will not be impacted and has expressed its desire to work with the new Trump administration. 

 

In what the report said was possibly a calculated policy statement, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir last week stressed that Pakistan would not join any bloc and would instead support efforts for peace in the world. Citing foreign policy observers, the report said that the army chief's statement was directed at the Trump Administration. 

 

The Pakistani government has also decided to reach out to Trump's transition team to establish early contacts with the new administration, added the report.