Abstract
The US-led coalition has been heavily involved in political, economic, and military sectors of Afghanistan for more than a decade, which is termed as one of the largest US commitments to South Asia. Af-Pak strategy under the Obama administration could not achieve the required objectives. The Trump’s stance on South Asia also remained ambiguous throughout his election campaign, but it is very much clear that the present Pak-US relations mainly entrenched in post-9/11 Af-Pak issues. The US fight against terrorism in the region has remained an unfinished agenda. Taliban are again gaining ground in Afghanistan, slowly and gradually. The US, today, is not only fighting against al-Qaeda, but Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) also poses a serious threat to the stability of the region. These militant organizations have developed strong foothold in Afghanistan and trying to gain grounds in border areas of Pakistan as well. The Trump administration needs Pakistan’s cooperation to weed out these militants, but with new strategies. The previous tactics that the US have been applying on Pakistan, i.e., to do more rhetoric, sanctions, reduction of coalition support fund, and drone attacks, are now proved to be counterproductive. This strategy has only strained the already complicated Pak-US relations and has played an important role in intensifying prevalent anti-Americanism in various parts of Pakistan.