July 4 marks the anniversary of the independence of the United States of America. The country has functioned as a super power in a unipolar world since the end of the Cold War in 1991. Relations with the US are hence of extreme significance to all other countries in the world. Pakistan has been in a transactional relationship with the US since its independence in 1947. A transactional relationship can be best described as a relationship with the expectation of reciprocity. It is only when one of the participants is in need of something (and the other expects something in return) that the relationship becomes functional.

The US was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Pakistan. Since then the US has based relations with Pakistan mostly on its geographical location. Pakistan has had an important role in the American foreign policy on South and Central Asia. Some landmarks in the Pakistan-US relations have been the 1979-89 Afghan-Soviet war, the sanctions over nuclear proliferation and the 2001 US engagement in Afghanistan.

Pak-US relations have been described as a roller coaster ride with highs being the times when Pakistan’s geopolitical location was of benefit to the US. Since 9/11 Pakistan has been a major non-NATO ally to the US. Till 2016 the US had provided a total of $78.3 billion assistance to Pakistan, mostly in the form of military aid.

The US is also the largest source of direct foreign investment in Pakistan.

More than half a million Pakistani immigrants and their descendants are now American citizens. Some of these Pakistani Americans continue to send money to families in Pakistan.

Relations with the US are of extreme economic importance to Pakistan due to the fact that policies and conditions of the IMF in Pakistan can be significantly influenced by the US. Currently, Pakistan is stranded between longstanding and promising relations with China and transactional relations with the US. China as a   member of the BRICS and an  emerging power is in a cold struggle with the US.