Alignment with the West: Pakistan’s Motives

Abstract

After few years of independence Pakistan established diplomatic ties with the US and opted for alignment with the west. In this way, Pakistan joined SEATO and CENTO, two military alliances supported by the US. As a result, the US consented to give Pakistan financial and military support. Pakistan's participation in CENTO and SEATO improved ties between the two countries. The paper aims to explore Pakistan's alignment with the west and the US strategic interest in Pakistan. Secondary data has been collected from books, articles and newspapers. This article relies on qualitative methods of research to describe the motives behind Pakistan and US partnership. The findings of the study suggest that the relationship between the two was not based on confidence, trust, and loyalty but on interest and expediency. The USA has always manipulated Pakistan in the context of alignment for its own interest.