ISAS Insights

With a new government in place in Islamabad and with the United States needing Pakistan’s help in winding down its operations in Afghanistan, there is some hope that relations between the two countries can be restored to some kind of normalcy. This was the expectation that took the US Secretary of State John Kerry on a two-day visit to Islamabad on 30-31 July 2013. Judging by the statements made by the two sides, it appears that the downward slide in relations that began in January 2011 has been arrested but much remains to be done. This paper explores what was achieved during the Kerry visit and what kind of trajectory the two countries are likely to follow as they move forward.