During Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir’s high-profile visit to the United States, former Pentagon official and American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Michael Rubin delivered a scathing critique of both Pakistan’s regional conduct and US President Donald Trump’s approach to Islamabad. 

Rubin, in a series of interviews and statements, accused Pakistan of insincerity, double-dealing, and of leveraging diplomatic engagement with the US for its own benefit, particularly immunity and financial aid.

Rubin dismissed the prevailing diplomatic courtesies as mere “rhetoric,” arguing that “everyone sees Pakistan for what it is, except perhaps Donald Trump.” He suggested that Trump’s public overtures to Pakistan are transactional, motivated by US interests in regional security, especially concerning Iran’s nuclear program and the broader Israel-Iran conflict.

According to Rubin, any US plan involving infiltration of Iran or the handling of Iranian nuclear materials post-conflict could potentially require Pakistani cooperation—an arrangement he views with deep scepticism.

He further argued that Pakistan’s interests already align with those of the US regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions, questioning the logic of incentivising Islamabad to act against Tehran. “If that is the case, we shouldn’t pay Pakistan a single dollar for achieving what’s in Pakistan’s own interests,” Rubin asserted, highlighting a pattern where Pakistan “pretends to partner with the US to gain immunity and financial benefits” while continuing to pursue its own agenda.

Rubin’s criticism extended to Trump personally, noting the former president’s admiration for military leaders and suggesting that Trump’s willingness to engage with Munir reflects a lack of diplomatic nuance and a desire for personal legacy, including ambitions for a Nobel Peace Prize. Rubin warned that Trump’s rhetoric risks putting US security behind personal ambitions and cautioned that trusting Pakistan in any anti-Iran strategy would be a dangerous repetition of past policy failures.

He also characterised Pakistan as a “terrorist state” fearful of accountability, accusing it of supporting terrorism as a tool of statecraft and seeking to avoid consequences by fostering a transactional relationship with Washington. Rubin called for the US to formally designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism and urged India to prioritize its own security interests over advice from Washington, emphasising bipartisan support for India in the US Congress and growing impatience with Pakistan’s actions.

Rubin’s remarks coincided with visible protests by overseas Pakistanis against General Munir in Washington, D.C., reflecting broader discontent with Pakistan’s military leadership and its domestic record.

The visit itself, which included meetings at the White House and high-level talks at the State Department and Pentagon, was seen by analysts as part of Islamabad’s effort to recalibrate its relationship with Washington amid shifting regional dynamics and increasing US-India strategic alignment.

Michael Rubin’s commentary underscores a deepening scepticism in US policy circles about Pakistan’s reliability as a partner, particularly under Trump’s leadership, and highlights the transactional and often fraught nature of US-Pakistan relations in the context of evolving regional security challenges.

Based On ANI Report