Key Points

Speaking to ANI on Friday, on the evolving US-Pakistani relationship under President Donald Trump's second administration, Poast highlighted how Islamabad's strategic location serves as a vital gateway for US operations in such a volatile region.

"They are an ally who gives the US access. If we have a presence there, it puts us that much closer to China and puts our assets closer to China and Iran," Poast said.

Poast linked the developments in the US-Pakistan relation to the Trump administration's unapologetic embrace of military primacy, exemplified by its recent executive order renaming the Department of Defence as the Department of War.

Poast argued it reflects a policy where "military affairs are a central part of what governments do".

This militarised lens, Poast explained, reframes Pakistan not as a diplomatic partner but as a logistical enabler providing the US with a strategic access point for projecting its military power.

"The Trump administration has made it very clear, even to the extent of renaming the Department of Defence, the Department of War. They have made it very clear that they're very comfortable with the fact that military affairs are a central part of what governments do. If you start looking at Bagram, the fact that the Trump administration is making these demands to regain the airbase in Afghanistan is because they want to be able to have a military presence towards China. I can completely see where the Trump administration is viewing the importance of Pakistan from that frame," he stated.

The professor pointed to Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 22 US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, as a prime example, noting that such an operation was able to take place due to the presence of US bases and US personnel in the countries in those regions.

"Recently, with the attack, the Midnight Hammer that happened a few months ago was enabled by having this type of access, by having US bases, US personnel in other countries, and so forth. Viewed from that framework, the Trump administration has its military policy, then its foreign policy. Then it makes sense why the US would not have Pakistan's military official in the conversation. The Trump administration is just much more willing to be open about it and wants military officials here to talk to them directly," the Associate Professor said.

His remark comes at a time when Trump hosted Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir at the Oval Office in Washington.

However, a cloud appears to be over the meeting, as the White House has failed to release any official pictures or video of the meeting.

The US President, earlier in the day, had hosted the Turkish President, Recep Erdogan, and a live joint briefing followed that meeting. The meeting between Sharif, Munir and Trump, however, was only posted by official Pakistani social media accounts.

- ANI