Paul Kapur, the new South Asia top diplomat of the US, thinks Pakistan is a 'nuclear-armed failing state'. Here is what else he said about it
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Paul Kapur, the new South Asia top diplomat of the US, thinks Pakistan is a 'nuclear-armed failing state'. Here is what else he said about it")
S Paul Kapur has expressed strong anti-Pakistan views in the past Photograph: (Others)
Paul Kapur, the new top US diplomat for South Asia, has periodically critiqued Pakistan’s military, nuclear risks and terror support. He has called for US aid cuts, contrasting India’s democracy with Pakistan's instability. Here is what else he said
Paul Kapur, a staunchly anti-Pakistan scholar, has just been confirmed as the South Asia desk chief of the US State Department. It might come as a bit of a shock to Islamabad, which had assumed that the Trump administration had tilted towards it, as opposed to India, amid the tariff war and trade deal tensions. Kapur, who will be the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, has been openly critical of Pakistan’s military establishment and its nuclear policies. He has contrasted Pakistan’s instability with India’s democratic order. He had criticised US military aid to Pakistan, calling it “strategic malpractice” given its support for terror safe havens. An influential figure in US policy debates on South Asia, Paul’s books, public testimonies, remarks, articles, and social media posts provide a snapshot of his views. Here is a summary.
Kapur has often criticised destabilising actions of the Pakistan military
In his book Dangerous Deterrent (2007), Kapur argued that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, developed as a counterbalance to India, emboldened its military to pursue aggressive and revisionist policies. He said Pakistan's "minimum credible deterrence" is a cover for offensive strategies. Challenging the idea that nuclear weapons stabilise regional security, Kapur said Pakistan’s nukes enable risky military adventurism. He is of the view that Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism in Kashmir is an extension of this adventurism, while calling its “first-use” nuclear doctrine provocative and a major threat to regional peace. He thinks of the Pakistani military as a 'revisionist actor', uninterested in peaceful stability and willing to use terrorism to coerce India, raising the spectre of nuclear escalation.
Kapur said Pakistan uses terrorists to challenge India's territorial integrity
At a 2019 Congressional testimony, Kapur said the Pakistani military was using terrorist proxies to challenge India’s territorial integrity. He called for US aid to be conditioned upon Pakistan ending support for terror, while labelling its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) a “state within a state” that enables ‘global jihadism.’ Writing in Foreign Affairs magazine in 2021, Kapur called Pakistan a “nuclear-armed failing state,” where military elites perpetuate instability, while criticising US engagement as naïve.
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In the War on the Rocks podcast (2023-2024), Kapur condemned Pakistan’s denial of militant involvement following terror attacks targeting India, and advocated international isolation of Pakistan’s military to deter further provocations.
Kapur called Pakistan’s democracy a sham, contrasted Pakistan's nuclear weapons with India’s restraint
Kapur periodically warned that Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons are “escalatory wildcards,” while contrasting India’s restraint with Pakistan’s incentive for early nuclear use. He advocated US restrictions on technology exports to Pakistan.
On his Kapur’s X account, Kapur frequently shares his critical views of Pakistan, calling Pakistan’s democracy a sham controlled by the military. He also linked domestic unrest in Pakistan to militant policies.
On Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal expansions, Kapur described its “full-spectrum deterrence” doctrine as offensive and suicidal for South Asia.
Who is Paul Kapur?
S Paul Kapur is an American academic and expert on South Asian security specialising in nuclear proliferation issues and US foreign policy in the region. A Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval Postgraduate School, Kapur is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and a non-resident fellow at the Stimson Center. Holding a PhD in Political Science, Kapur has written several books on India’s nuclear strategy and Pakistan’s destabilising role in South Asia. His research focuses on the strategic risks posed by Pakistan’s military and nuclear arsenal. Born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother, Kapur studied at Amherst College.
