What US-Pakistan Relations Need Next – OpEd

When Andy Halus, the Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, sat in the seat before We News, one could applaud the headline lines. He sounded like one that had been trying to replace the worn-out phrases with a more fundamental idea: Pakistan and the US would be more successful when they have the relationship human first, policy second. That is good, because the concept of public diplomacy has been scorned as bad photos and benign words. In fact, the foreign policy area that the people can experience is student advising process, cultural programs, and visitor reception. The publication of the Halus interview, by USEFP and others, was timely, just as the two capitals are engaged in blatant efforts to show affections, instead of the reverse.

He also brushed away the fact that the relations between Pakistan and the US were on a high as never before. You have some reason to object to the phraseology, but it is not empty word. It has been indicated above, publicly. Trump welcomed the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal, Asim Munir in the White House in late September of 2025 and since that time the news has centred on Trump making various statements about the two leaders and praising them. Whereas there is the existence of leadership chemistry, it gives the bureaucracies space to move. A tone can be formed even in case it is just theatre, that will cause less friction. Any the point is that the mood is co-operative as the interview puts it of course, and Islamabad must be smart enough to turn the mood into long-term work.

My favourite part was that Halus related big policy to the day-in day-out respect. He had described hospitality as a national sport in Pakistan and he was predisposed to the idea that Pakistani welcomed people to their homes with the cordiality and the attitude of sincerity. It is not social because it is not a statistic, but rather a social habit lived, and it is soft power, too. Competition is carried not only through missiles, voting and exchanging in the UN. They are competitors over fame. In case a visiting professor, investor or a tourist takes a step out of Pakistan and thinks that he was treated in a dignified manner, the ripple effect of such a step cannot be priced above all the press releases. And this is where the public diplomacy can no longer be a trifle. It is an asset.

The filler was also not the cultural notes like the biryani and music. Biryani is a short name of a greater object: a communal table. When Halus is screaming at Karachi biryani, he is practicing what good diplomats often practice which is that they are listening and are ready to be hosts and not visitors. With respect to music, the vibrant scenario in Pakistan can also be mentioned so as to bring an eye opener that culture is one of the best exports of Pakistan even when it is not exported. His example of the Coke Studio is also efficient as it shows that the global brand can spread the word about a local creative world and be not in the focus of the stage but could still offer Pakistani music and Pakistani stories. That culture is not entertainments, it is social bandage.

However, education was what was really involved in the message that Halus was conveying. He emphasized on the Fulbright track record in Pakistan and the statistics are hard to overlook. It is quoted around the new USEFP plant that more than 9,000 Pakistanis had received Fulbright experience in the US, and even USEFP itself is proud of the fact that since 2005 it has the largest Fulbright foreign student program in the world. The links of learning are gradual but they build up. One of the sets of scholars refers to health, technological, policy, media, and business networks of alumni. Such alumni slowly become the informal interpreters of systems, which is what a complex relationship should contain.

The new USEFP building in Islamabad is a good example of such a move in shifting speeches to infrastructure. The launch announced by the US embassy can be described as a hub to serve the potential scholars and this has learning resources available to the people. Other coverage is also in the form of free educational services and opportunities like Education USA. In practice, a handful of panel discussions are less significant than a concrete building with walk in services. It will reduce the intimidation of first-generation applicants and it will be a sign of permanence and not a onetime project.

Now comes the economics, the conversation becomes solemn very soon. In this instance, the facts will be real, as Halus is associated with investment and specifically with Reko Diq. A financing that is driven by critical minerals at the Reko Diq in December of 2025 was approved under the US Export Import Bank and public announcements about the financing showed as much as 2 billion US equipment and services in the long run. It is not like charity and it is all right, it is transactional. US desires supply chain and markets and Pakistan requires an investment. The question will be, will Pakistan negotiate this wave so as to build the local capacity, as so negotiate it so that it safeguards the community, as so negotiate it so that it leaves jobs and skills in the place where the mine actually is not just the boardrooms at the other end of the earth.