The growth of the so called “Samosa Caucus” in the US, meaning Indian Americans holding official positions in the new Trump administration, is stirring concern in Pakistan, according to an article in the Dawn newspaper.
It referred to the appointment of Indian Americans Ricky Gill as the new director for South and Central Asia in the National Security Council (NSC), Kush Desai as the new deputy press secretary at the White House and Saurabh Sharma in Trump’s Personnel Office.
Gill had served in Trump’s first administration as NSC director for Europe and Russian affairs but in his new role will handle the India account in the NSC. He is expected to be reporting directly to Mike Waltz, Trump’s National Security Adviser.
Desai is a former journalist and Dartmouth College graduate, who was communications director for the Republican Party of Iowa. In his new job he will report to Taylor Budowich, the White House deputy chief of staff and cabinet secretary.
Bengaluru-born Sharma is a biochemistry graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and co-founder/President of the conservative American Movement based in Washington DC.
Dawn also noted the swearing-in “of a record six Indian-Americans to the House of Representatives earlier this month,” underscoring that “With 4.5 million members the (Indian) diaspora has cemented its position in the American economy and education sectors and is now becoming a critical force in American politics as well.”
It quoted South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman writing in Foreign Policy magazine that “The rise of Indian Americans in politics reflects not only their growing influence in domestic policy-making but also their ability to shape foreign policy narratives particularly in relation to South Asia.”
It quoted another report by the Stimson Center in Washington that “The new Trump cabinet will test the US-Pakistan relationship as it is likely to contain many officials who seek to hinder China’s rise and who have characterised Beijing’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) as a threat.”
“For Pakistan,” writes Kugelman, “this shift highlights the need to recalibrate its diplomatic engagements in Washington as Indian Americans take on prominent roles across the political spectrum.”
The concern is as advocacy for stronger India-US ties builds and expands, Pakistan’s efforts to highlight its geopolitical relevance particularly in Afghanistan and the rest of South Asia will be tested.
Pakistan could leverage its “strategic position in the BRI and its proximity to the Persian Gulf to maintain its importance in US policy-making circles, provided it navigates the shifting landscape with skillful diplomacy,” Dawn underscored.
