Trump’s South Asia pick vows to pursue security ties, trade with Pakistan

Paul Kapur, President Donald Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, said he would seek security cooperation with Pakistan and explore opportunities for expanding bilateral trade and investment, if confirmed by the Senate.

Speaking at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kapur — an Indian-American scholar — emphasized the importance of maintaining U.S. interests in the region, including with Pakistan.

“On Pakistan, if confirmed, I will pursue security cooperation where it is beneficial to U.S. interest while seeking bilateral collaboration for trade and investment,” Kapur said. “South Asia recently escaped a caustic conflict with Vice President [JD] Vance and Secretary [Marco] Rubio intensely engaged in the issue.”

He added: “If confirmed I will pursue longstanding U.S. security interest with India and Pakistan.”

Kapur is poised to become the Trump administration’s top diplomat for the South and Central Asia region at a time of heightened geopolitical competition and regional instability.

His comments come amid renewed attention on Pakistan's evolving role in U.S. foreign policy following the withdrawal from Afghanistan and shifting alliances across the Indo-Pacific.

Who is Paul Kapur?

Kapur currently serves as a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

He is also a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and previously worked on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff from 2020 to 2021, where he focused on South and Central Asia, the Indo-Pacific strategy, and U.S.-India relations.

An academic with deep expertise in the region, Kapur has written extensively on nuclear deterrence, India-Pakistan relations, and regional security.

His notable works include the book Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia and scholarly articles such as India and Pakistan’s Unstable Peace. His writings have appeared in publications like International Security, Security Studies, Asian Survey, Washington Quarterly, and The Wall Street Journal.