Act now

With his intemperate tweets, US President Donald Trump has inadvertently done Pakistan a great favour. It’s time we realised that getting involved in big power rivalry, including the Cold War, the Afghan War and the so-called war on terror, without recognising our own national interests was not a wise decision. This was nurtured by military dictators. Our leaders have to articulate our interests coherently.

Our one, permanent enemy is India. With the rest of the world, there is no reason why we should not have mutually beneficial ties. It will serve Trump right when he finds out that his new ally India will never go against its own strategic interests. Pakistan in retrospect will have been deemed more valuable. Unless we make fundamental changes in our social and governing methods, welcome to the new Syria.

Asif Ayub

Virginia, USA