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one in post on x“Assistant Secretary Paul Kapoor, welcome to @State_SCA! This morning Dr. Kapoor was officially sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs,” the US State SCA wrote in the announcement.
Paul Kapoor is a supporter of India-US relations and has been a staunch critic of Pakistan.
While he would be Trump’s man in South Asia, six years ago, in congressional testimony, Kapoor said the Pakistani military had used terrorist proxies to target India’s territorial integrity. Over the past few months, Trump may have seemed to be developing closer ties with Pakistan, but Kapoor had in the past suggested that US aid should be given on the condition that the South Asian country stops supporting terror. In the same 2019 congressional hearing, he said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was a “state within a state” that was enabling “global jihadism”.
Two years later, Kapoor called Pakistan a “nuclear-armed failed state” in a Foreign Affairs article, and criticized American involvement as naive.
On Pakistan, Kapoor said he would pursue security cooperation with the country if it would be beneficial to US interests, “while exploring opportunities for bilateral cooperation in trade and investment”.
Kapoor on India-US relations
During his nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June, Kapoor said that the US and India have many common interests.
“If confirmed, I will work to advance the U.S.-India relationship and advance our partnership to realize its tremendous promise. The United States and India have many shared interests: ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region that is not dominated by China; expanding bilateral trade, building our economic relationship so that it is more symmetrical and beneficial; technology sharing and facilitating innovation; and ensuring access to the energy needed to fuel our economies,” he said. Said.
He described US-India relations as “the centerpiece of regional stability and global security.”
On the recent India-Pakistan hostilities, he also said that South Asia “recently averted a costly conflict” and added that he would “promote long-standing US security interests with India and Pakistan through the pursuit of peace and stability and the fight against terrorism.”
At the hearing, he said that Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan are important for stability in the Indo-Pacific region. He said, “If confirmed, I will advocate for increased U.S. cooperation with these countries to enhance our security, balance China’s influence, and expand trade.”
He sees India as an important US partner, especially in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. According to a Times of India report, Kapoor highlighted the inevitable trajectory of US-India relations in a 2023 essay co-written with Harsh Pant of the Observer Research Foundation.
“Effective formulation and implementation of cooperative policies require careful management,” he said, warning that poor management could result in “irreconcilable expectations” and even discord. He stressed the need for careful management of the US-India partnership to realize 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 brought to South Asia by nuclear weapons. He argued that instead of ensuring stability, nuclear weapons locked the region into a dangerous cycle. The report said Pakistan is engaged in a proxy war, India responds with conventional military action and both sides remain in a constant state of crisis.
Kapoor said India’s nuclear doctrine has evolved carefully, but its strategic restraint in responding to terrorist attacks such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks has inadvertently allowed Pakistan’s proxy war strategy to continue. This dynamic contributes to ongoing instability in the region.
Paul Kapoor was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother. He completed his PhD from the University of Chicago and his undergraduate degree from Amherst College. He is the author of several books, such as Jihad as Grand Strategy: Islamist Militancy, National Security, and the Pakistan State and Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia.