After Democrats' Congress win, Pakistan's leaders fear scrutiny of the close ties they built with Trump

Pakistan's leaders have spent the past two years trying to build a good relationship with US President Donald Trump. But after the Democrats' win in Tuesday's Congress elections, a new fear of scrutiny has arisen over how much of their access to the White House will remain. Reuters reported this on Friday.

Ordinary Pakistanis, however, see the result differently. Residents interviewed by Reuters after the vote said they hope the change in Washington will soon be felt in this country of more than 240 million people.

Pakistan is a country dependent on imports. Residents said oil prices, pushed up by war, have become a major burden for most families.

Karachi resident Sajjad Ali said: "We think meaningful talks are not possible with the current US administration and the ongoing bloodshed will not stop until there is a change in the (US) government. We want peace, economic progress and a fall in rising fuel oil prices."

Another Karachi resident, Asim Jafar, expressed hope that the election result will help keep Trump in check. He said: "It can bring change in important policies and possibly help stop the injustice being done to Muslim countries."

Analysts, however, say the result is far more worrying for Pakistan's government and its powerful military leadership.

The effort to build closeness with Trump — culminating in Pakistan's mediation in the Iran war — gave the country a chance to establish an intimate relationship with the Trump administration. But that special access has so far brought no clear economic benefit, the report said.

The process of building that closeness took shape from the start of Trump's second term. Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir — whom Trump has repeatedly called his 'favourite field marshal' — acted as the main channel of contact with the White House.

At their lunch in June 2025, no Pakistani civilian official was present. According to Pakistan's military, their talks included not only security issues but also cooperation in sectors such as mining, energy and cryptocurrency.

Pakistan then joined Trump's 'Board of Peace' and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. It claims Trump helped end Pakistan's conflict with India in May 2025. New Delhi, however, has denied that hostilities ended because of US mediation.

Early this year, the close relationship gained a strategic basis through mediation on Iran. Islamabad relayed messages between the United States and Iran and hosted talks in April. In the end, however, the 'Islamabad pact' quickly collapsed.

In December 2025, the US Export-Import Bank approved $1.25 billion for Pakistan's Reko Diq copper and gold project. But Pakistan's larger $10 billion assistance request to the US Treasury Department received no answer.

Several of Pakistan's initiatives have now become a political risk, because several of the deals involve Trump's family or his close associates. Islamabad has signed memorandums under which the possible use of 'USD1' — a stablecoin issued by the Trump-linked 'World Liberty Financial' — will be explored.

At the signing in January, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said any innovation must be consistent with 'rules, stability and national interest'. A memorandum was also signed for the redevelopment of Manhattan's Roosevelt Hotel, in which Steve Witkoff acted as an intermediary to complete the deal.

In addition, a limited purchase order was placed to buy drones from a firm called 'Poweras'. Its investors include Trump's two sons, Donald Jr and Eric. When asked about the matter in September, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Reuters: "There is no room for a conflict of interest here."

Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan's former ambassador to Washington, said Pakistan's leaders had built a kind of 'transactional relationship' with Trump's team. In his view, "Pakistan is probably not at all prepared for this kind of strict review."

Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Center, warned that if a deal appears to have been driven by personal interest, it could face investigation and the overall bilateral relationship could be damaged as a result.

Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council said counter-terrorism cooperation and Pakistan's diplomatic steps on Iran had support from both US parties. But in his view: "The risk for Pakistan is that they bet almost all of their diplomatic effort on the White House; as a result, they have nothing left in hand when it comes to relations with the Democrats."