'Trump to be tough on Pak'

New Delhi happy over Prez-designate's strident stand on terror

As Donald Trump is set to take over the Oval Office at the White House, New Delhi expects that the new US administration will be more forthcoming to work with India in combating terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Given Trump’s strident rhetoric against terrorism during his campaign over the past few months, New Delhi expects that the new government in Washington would put more pressure on Islamabad to stop pursuing a selective approach in combating terrorism.

New Delhi has long been complaining that while Islamabad has been carrying out military offensives against terrorists in western Pakistan and showcasing it to the word as a sign of its commitment to combat terror, it has not been acting against anti-India outfits based along its eastern border.

During his campaign, Trump referred to nuclear-armed “semi-unstable” Pakistan as a “problem” for the US and the world. He also made it clear that his administration would expect the US allies and partners in the region to do more to deal with such problems.

It is still not clear when the first meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take place. Officials, however, told DH that India’s focus on the early days of its engagement with the new US administration would be to make Washington see through the fallacy created by Pakistan about the offensives its army launched against terrorists. “What we will have to make clear to the Trump administration fast is that a more robust India-US counterterrorism cooperation would require Washington to make Islamabad change its selective approach on combating terror,” a senior official in New Delhi said.

New Delhi also expects that the new US administration would be open to greater role of India in Afghanistan, notwithstanding the reservation of Pakistan. 

Fingers are however crossed in New Delhi over Trump administration’s immigration policy. Trump’s strong views on immigration during the campaign created a perception that he would take a tough stand on migrants, not only the ones who get in illegally, but also the professionals who migrate to the US legally.

His campaign rhetoric included an overhaul of the H1B visa issuance programme, and a pause and review of issuance of “green cards”.

“This is a concern. But we hope that ‘President Trump’ would better acknowledge than ‘Candidate Trump’ the positive role of Indian professionals working in America, particularly in contributing to the competitiveness of US economy,” another official in New Delhi said. 
  
If the speculation about an upturn in US-Russia relations with Trump in White House proves to be true, New Delhi is likely to find it easier to balance its ties with Washington and Moscow. New Delhi, however, will be keenly watching how the new US administration deals with China and accommodates India’s interests in Asia-Pacific.

George Bush administration’s push for the India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement and Washington’s high-octane diplomacy to secure the Nuclear Supplier Group’s waiver for India in 2008 raised the bar of expectation for the bilateral relation.