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HISTORY has been in love with Lahore since forever. It was not its only admirer. The Mughals remained enamoured of it. Akbar made it the capital of his kingdom for 14 years. Jahangir chose to be buried within sight of it. Shah Jahan embellished its fort. Aurangzeb commissioned a magnificent mosque opposite the fort.
Under the Sikh maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lahore became the fulcrum of his Sikh empire. It remained so until 1849 when the East India Company possessed it. From then, it reverted to its traditional role, subordinate to Delhi.
Today, the capital of the Sharifs oscillates between Model Town (originally named Ideal Town) and Ideal Islamabad. Sindh stands forfeit to the successor of the Talpurs. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a craggy eminence with feudal loyalties. Balochistan is a crucible of fermenting dissent. The provinces of Pakistan are beginning to look like a cracked mirror image of the creaking USA.
No man in modern history has changed the world’s rotation as suddenly or as capriciously as President Donald Trump has. He has reversed the globe’s orbit, from anticlockwise to clockwise. To Trump, this makes sense. The sun should rise in the west and set in the east, at least for the next four years.
Can Pakistan expect any relief from Trump?
His imposition of tariffs is a message to countries worldwide to recalibrate their economies according to his reordered chronometer. To him, globalisation is a dirty word, and economic interdependence a synonym for weakness.
He sees no advantage to the US in Russia supplying cheap gas to Europe, or French companies buying components from Germany for assembly in France. Trump must have smirked when his protégé Nigel Farage of the UK’s Reform Party brextricated Great Britain from the EU. The anthem in Brussels — Beethoven’s Ode to Joy — should be replaced by Sauve qui peut (every man for himself).
In the hastily constructed temple in which Trump sits as a presiding deity, a different mantra is being chanted. Globalisation is being replaced by transactionalism. It is economic narcissism at its best, or diplomatic worst.
Countries have already begun sending their emissaries to Washington to genuflect before the almighty dollar. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is keeping count. He has announced that at least 50 countries have contacted the US to negotiate relief.
Pakistan has been quicker than most. On April 7, our Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed with Mr Rubio “tariffs, trade relations, immigration and prospects for engagement on critical minerals”. The Trump administration has imposed a 29pc tariff on Pakistan. Dar hoped for a reduction to 10pc.
After their call, the State Department and Pakistan’s foreign ministry issued separate statements. The State Department said: “They (Rubio and Dar) discussed US reciprocal tariffs on Pakistan and how to make progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship”.
“The Secretary raised prospects for engagement on critical minerals and expressed interest in expanding commercial opportunities for US companies.” The foreign ministry added that Rubio “reciprocated the desire to collaborate with Pakistan in trade and investment in various sectors, especially critical minerals.”
These critical minerals are the new weapons of commerce. It is well-known that the Trump administration wants to strike a deal with Ukraine over critical minerals as part of the peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine. Less publicly, Washington is discussing simultaneously with the Congo critical mineral partnerships to “help end a conflict raging in the African country’s east”. Peace on earth is being replaced by peace for earth.
During the Rubio-Dar call, Rubio “emphasised the importance of Pakistan’s cooperation with the US on law enforcement and addressing illegal immigration”. Dar countered that Pakistan had already offered the head of Mohammad Sharifullah, whom the US wanted for an attack on its troops fleeing from Kabul airport in 2021.
Can Pakistan expect any relief from Trump’s administration? The trade imbalance between the two speaks for itself. In 2024, the US imported from Pakistan $5.1bn, mainly textiles, leather goods, and furniture. The US exports to Pakistan included $772m of raw cotton and goods, $406m of iron and steel, and $141m of machinery. Pakistan (once a major cotton producer) now imports raw cotton and textile-based goods from the US.
Some classicists see a similarity between Trump and the legendary demon Hiranyakshsa. He obtained immunity from the devas against death by man or beast. He then stole the world and took it to the nether regions. It was retrieved by Vishnu’s avatar Varaha who, being half-man and half-beast, sidestepped the protective condition.
Many pray that some bipartisan American — half-Republican and half-Democrat — will challenge Trump and rescue our hapless world from this swirling disorder.
The writer is an author.
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2025
