Probably foisted by the State Department as a pretext that they are a buffer against Chinese imperialism in that area. Just my guess.
Personally, I think India is a far better, more reliable bulkward against Chinese imperialism than Pakistan ever would be. And their a pretty good bulkward against Pakistani imperialism too.
We could have nipped Chinese imperialism in the bud years ago by trading with them less—and not knowingly transfering our technology and manufacturing plants to them.
But I guess the genuises at the State Dept never considered THAT.
Pakistan is not a buffer against China; they are China’s buffer in the region.