‘Trump’s policy to increase US pressure on Muslim countries’

 Jang Economic Session

LAHORE: Ups and downs come in the US-Pakistan relations while Pakistan has always cared about the US interests and the US had always given a cold shoulder in return while Trump's anti-Muslim policy will increase the US pressure on the Muslim countries.

These views were expressed by experts in the Jang Economic Session on “Future of US-Pakistan relations”. The panellists were Manzoor Malik, Zahid Saeed, Erum Shaheen Malik, Mehmood Ahmed, and Dr Yasir Mehmood while it was hosted by Sikandar Lodhi.

Manzoor Malik said that Pakistan should control weakness and establish itself economically to create its impact in the world. He called for continuity in the economic policies and reforms removing foreign weaknesses; otherwise, problems for Pakistanis in the US and other countries will increase.

The foreign ministry should play its role in this regard, he asserted. He said making think tanks effective was also required besides improving the system. He said decline in exports was due to poor marketing.

He believed that the US was never a threat for Pakistan and it will never be so. Pakistan should focus on effective foreign policy and improve ties on education and other fronts.

Zahid Saeed said the US should keep in mind that Pakistan has sacrificed a lot for its policies before putting pressure on it. He said effective foreign and economic policies were the need of the hour in order to maintain its position in the region, so the relation should be established on equality basis with the superpower and neighbours. He suggested focusing on trade instead on loans. He said the US president was not powerful as their policies were made by think tanks; so there was no need to worry about Trump's statements. The US and Pakistan have correlated needs with each other.

Erum Shaheen Malik said that Pakistan and the US were always allies while the US always focus on its priorities and interests while ignoring Pakistan’s interest and respect. She said the US gave importance to India in order to let down China economically while keeping the working relationship with Pakistan was its need.

She said no reaction to Trump’s anti-Muslim policy was a good decision as there was no difference between Trump and Bush policies. Mehmood Ahmed said the swings in US-Pakistan relations always occurred but demand of the time was that all Muslim countries and Pakistan jointly evolve a strategy for future.

He said in the recent past, Pakistanis worked at top position in US companies but due to US "Do More Policy" mistrust between US-Pakistan relations increased. This also reflected in US policies towards India, he observed. He said no response to the US policies from Pakistan was a serious concern when European and US companies raise voice on it.  

Dr Yasir Mehmood said that Trump wanted dependency mainly on local products and improve the balance of trade with China in favour of US. He said the US trade policy collectively affected the world economy so hopes to increase the exports should not be high.

 He said the anti-Muslim policy would put pressure on Pakistanis in the US and discourage Pakistanis from travelling to the US. He called for adopting an effective strategy to protect Pakistanis’ jobs in the US.