Paul Kapur is pro-India-US ties and has been a staunch critic of Pakistan.
While he will be Trump’s man in South Asia, six years ago, at a Congressional testimony, Kapur said the Pakistani military used terrorist proxies to target India’s territorial integrity. Over the last few months, Trump might have appeared to be developing close relations with Pakistan, but Kapur has, in the past, suggested that US aid be conditioned upon the South Asian country ending support for terror. At the same 2019 Congressional hearing, he said Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was a “state within a state”, enabling “global jihadism.”Two years later, Kapur called Pakistan a “nuclear-armed failing state,” in a Foreign Affairs piece, criticising US engagement as naïve.
On Pakistan, Kapur said that he would pursue security cooperation with the country if it were beneficial to US interests, “while seeking opportunities for bilateral collaboration in trade and investment”.
Kapur on India-US ties
During his nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June, Kapur said US and India share a host of common interests.
“If confirmed, I will work to further advance US-India relations and put our partnership on course to realise its tremendous promise. The United States and India share a host of common interests: ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is not dominated by China; expanding bilateral trade, building our economic relationship so that it is more symmetrical and profitable; facilitating technology sharing and innovation; and ensuring access to the energy necessary to fuel our economies,” he said.He described the US-India relationship as “central to regional stability and global security”.
On the recent India-Pakistan hostilities, he also noted that South Asia “recently avoided a costly conflict” and added he would promote “longstanding US security interests with India and Pakistan through the pursuit of peace and stability, and the fight against terrorism.”
At the hearing, he added that Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives, and Bhutan are important for stability in the Indo-Pacific region. “If confirmed, I will advocate for enhanced US cooperation with these nations to bolster our security, counterbalance China’s influence, and expand trade,” he added.
He views India as a crucial US partner, particularly in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. According to a report in The Times of India, Kapur highlighted the seemingly inevitable trajectory of US-India ties in a 2023 essay co-authored with Harsh Pant of the Observer Research Foundation.
“The effective formulation and execution of cooperative policies requires careful management,” he noted, warning that poor management may result in “unmet expectations” and even discord. He emphasised the need for careful management of the US-India partnership to realise its full potential, citing potential areas of friction such as disagreements over the war in Ukraine and the lack of a US-India free trade agreement.
On nuclear weapons in South Asia
His analysis highlighted the instability nuclear weapons have brought to South Asia. He argued that instead of ensuring stability, nuclear weapons have locked the region into a dangerous cycle. Pakistan engages in proxy warfare, India responds with conventional military action, and both sides remain in a perpetual state of crisis, the report added.
Kapur noted that India’s nuclear doctrine has evolved cautiously, but its strategic restraint in responding to terrorist attacks, such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has inadvertently allowed Pakistan’s proxy war strategy to persist. This dynamic contributes to ongoing instability in the region.
Paul Kapur was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother. He completed his PhD from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Amherst College. He is the author of many books, like Jihad as Grand Strategy: Islamist Militancy, National Security, and the Pakistan State and Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia.
