Pakistan and the Crises in Afghanistan and Kashmir

South Asia faces a number of serious crises that could have profound consequences for the region and the United States. Pakistan is a key player with a relatively new Prime Minister, Imran Khan, who has yet to meet Donald Trump. The U.S. President says he wants “a great relationship” with Pakistan. However, absent close cooperation between the two countries over U.S. plans to withdraw half of its forces from Afghanistan and unless Pakistan and India can avoid another war over Kashmir, good relations with the U.S. could be difficult.

The Center held a discussion on these and other issues including the regional roles of Iran, Russia and China with two leading experts on South Asia, each of whom have direct experience as diplomats in the region. Husain Haqqani is currently a Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute. Having formerly served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States from 2008-2011 and to Sri Lanka from 1992-93, Ambassador Haqqani also acted as the advisor to four Pakistani Prime Ministers. Gerald Feierstein is Director for Gulf Affairs and Government Relations at Middle East Institute. Appointed as the Ambassador to Yemen by President Obama in 2010, Ambassador Feierstein also served as Deputy Coordinator and Principal Deputy Coordinator in the State Department’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau and the Director of the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh Affairs. Geoffrey Kemp, Senior Director of Regional Studies at the Center for the National Interest, moderated the discussion. 

A summary of this event can be read here in the The National Interest.