US–Pakistan Ties Are Quietly Redrawing South Asian Geopolitics – Analysis

President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan, Thursday, September 25, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

 October 27, 2025 

By Geopolitical Monitor

By Ishaal Zehra

The US–Pakistan relationship is thawing after years of mistrust. The two nations are rediscovering each other through energy, technology, and minerals, and appear to be building something that neither quite dared before: a partnership designed to last beyond crisis cycles.

This new phase of the partnership was marked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir’s recurring meetings with President Donald Trump, signaling Pakistan’s return to Washington’s strategic radar after nearly a decade on the sidelines. The transition from counterterrorism and wars to investment and interdependence is striking.

Commerce Drives the Revival

For decades, Pakistan–US ties were a study in volatility—alternating between cooperation and confrontation. Yet this time feels different. Washington is seeing Islamabad not merely as a security client but as a potential economic ally in the race to reshape global supply chains.

The breakthrough came when US Strategic Metals (USSM) pledged $500 million in Pakistan’s critical minerals—one of the largest US industrial pledges to Islamabad in recent years. The MoU focuses on exploring and processing rare earths, copper, and lithium—vital to electric vehicles and defense manufacturing.

Weeks later, Pakistan shipped its first batch of rare earth elements to the U.S., turning talks to trade. Reports suggest that both countries are negotiating trade and investment frameworks, including tariff relaxations and incentives for US companies in Pakistan’s mining and tech sectors.

Turning Resources into Geopolitical Power

For Islamabad, the minerals deal was more than an export milestone; it was a geopolitical message. By positioning itself as a new source of critical minerals, Islamabad is staking a claim in one of the most competitive arenas of modern-day economics.

Pakistan sits atop vast, largely untapped reserves of copper, gold, and rare earths—that could reshape its global standing. As Washington looks to reduce dependence on China, which currently controls 70 percent of global rare earth processing, Pakistan offers an alternative supply route connecting South and Central Asia to Western markets.

The equation is pragmatic: the United States gets diversification; Pakistan gets investment, recognition, and leverage. For Pakistan, the symbolism is deeply satisfying—a diplomatic return to South Asia’s strategic equation after years on the margins.

The Regional Chessboard

But this revival does not exist in a vacuum. China, Pakistan’s long-time strategic partner, is closely watching Washington’s return. With over $60 billion investments, Pakistan is a key player in China’s global Belt and Road Initiative, and now the US capital and mining interests are entering the same terrain. Yet Pakistan seems focused on diversification, not replacement— aiming to leverage both Chinese infrastructure and Western capital to overcome its economic challenges.

For India, the optics are troubling. After years of enjoying Washington’s near-exclusive attention in South Asia, particularly under the Indo-Pacific strategy and the Quad framework, New Delhi now needs to contend with Pakistan’s re-entry into Washington’s regional calculus. For New Delhi, this signals that the U.S. is willing to look beyond India in its regional balancing act, especially after the diplomatic fallout from Operation Sindoor.

Afghanistan, rich in lithium and copper, will be a key player in this mineral landscape—either driving a trilateral cooperation, complementing Pakistan’s reserves, or fueling competition, given the Taliban’s unpredictability and political leverage.

A New Triangular Order: U.S., Gulf, and Pakistan

In the Gulf, the revival of US-Pakistan ties fits neatly with Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s own deepening partnerships with Pakistan. Reports from Deloitte and S&P Global Market Intelligence indicate that Gulf sovereign wealth funds are increasingly targeting emerging mining and extractive industries in Asia, presenting opportunities for co-investment with US firms in Pakistan’s resource sector.

Riyadh’s Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) with Islamabad further complements Washington’s interest in securing energy and mineral corridors across the Arabian Sea. This could evolve into a triangular economic corridor linking US technology, Arab capital, and Pakistani resources. Further north, the resource-rich Central Asian states of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are also exploring connectivity through Pakistan’s ports for their exports to the West—reviving trade routes unseen since the Silk Road.

The opportunity, however, comes with risks. Pakistan’s mineral zones, particularly in Baluchistan, remain volatile, plagued by sporadic unrest and infrastructural fragility. Political instability and regulatory uncertainty could deter foreign investors. Then there’s the trust deficit that has long haunted Islamabad and Washington. The current US–Pakistan minerals MoU is, in many ways, a trial run for rebuilding trust after decades of broken promises and political friction. And this time success will hinge not on diplomacy but on delivery.

Economic Diplomacy Replaces Dependency

Yet the tone in Islamabad is cautiously confident today. The country is not seeking a bailout—it is offering business. Washington, too, is recalibrating its perception—seeing Pakistan less as a geopolitical burden and more as a potential partner in diversifying global supply chains.

Reports suggest US mineral investments could exceed $1 billion in the coming years, as Washington races to secure critical inputs for its weapons, robotics, and electric vehicles. To capitalize, Pakistan is hosting an investor conference in Washington this October. If the momentum holds, this partnership could become a defining chapter in US–Pakistan relations.

The US-Pakistan minerals deal may be worth half a billion dollars on paper, but its symbolic worth is far greater. The partnership could complement projects like CPEC, CASA-1000, and TAPI, enhancing Pakistan’s role in the global energy market. If handled pragmatically, Islamabad could leverage both Chinese infrastructure and Western capital to integrate regional economies, turning geography into genuine geo-economic strength.

• This article was published by Geopoliticalmonitor.com

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 Guinea Baboons Share Meat According To Fixed Social Rules

A good catch. This adult Guinea baboon (Papio papio) just caught a young bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus). Photo: Lauriane Faraut

 October 27, 2025

By Eurasia Review

The quality of relationships and the social organization of a society, influence the transfer of valuable resources not only in humans but also in other primates. Researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ) – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen have discovered this using the example of Guinea baboons (Papio papio), which distribute meat according to patterns similar to those of human hunter-gatherer groups.

The team analyzed 109 meat-eating events and combined these records with behavioral data from nearly a decade of field research. The closer the relationship between two animals, the more likely and peaceful the transfer of meat was. In contrast, theft occurred among less closely related group members (iScience).

The sharing of a valuable resource, such as meat, is considered a key driver for the development of complex, multi-level societies among humans. The varying success of hunting, combined with the high nutritional value of hunted animals, led early humans to develop networks between households to ensure a regular supply of meat. In human hunter-gatherer societies, meat is an essential food source that is rarely available and is widely shared according to the community structure, first within households and then within camps. However, the distribution of essential goods within human social structures is accompanied by culturally determined social norms and traditions. To better understand how a multi-level social organization influences the sharing of resources within a society, it is of great value to study other multi-level social systems among our closest relatives.

Tolerant sharing at the base of the society

To address this question, researchers from the Cognitive Ethology Laboratory at the German Primate Center spent nine years observing Guinea baboons in Senegal. These animals live in a multi-level social system. The smallest social unit is the “unit,” consisting of one male, one to several associated females, and their offspring. Three to four “units” together form a “party,” which is connected by long-term bonds between males often underpinned by kinship. Finally, the two to three parties together form the third level – the “gang.” Relationships between individuals tend to be stronger at lower levels of the society.

At the DPZ field station in Simenti, the scientists analyzed a total of 320 instances of meat transfers, mostly by male baboons with females in their units or with other males in the same party. The stronger the relationship between two animals, the greater the chance of meat transferring between them. Tolerant transfers, in which animals took pieces of meat without conflict (“passive sharing”), occurred almost exclusively within the closest social units. Further up in the hierarchy of social levels—between different units or within the gang—the transfers became less frequent and less tolerant.

“We were able to show that Guinea baboons pass meat along their social bonds,” explains William J. O’Hearn, lead author of the study. “This form of tolerant sharing is reminiscent of the behavior of human hunter-gatherer groups, where meat is first distributed within the family and only then reaches more distant acquaintances or neighbors.”

Social relationship strength determines who gets what

For their analysis, the researchers combined direct behavioral observations with statistical models to calculate the strength of the relationships between the animals. The results showed that the probability of getting a piece of meat increased significantly with the strength of individuals’ relationships to the “owner.”

Interestingly, Guinea baboons do not actively share their meat—they do not deliberately offer pieces of meat to others. Instead, meat is usually passed on “passively”: one animal eats, leaves the carcass behind, and the next socially proximal animal takes over. This observation suggests that social tolerance is a crucial prerequisite for the exchange of meat among baboons.

Significance for understanding social evolution

The study provides important evidence that complex social structures—i.e., societies with nested multiple levels—can have similar effects on the exchange of resources, regardless of the species. “This suggests that certain social patterns may have developed independently in humans and non-human primates, but in comparable ways,” says Julia Fischer, head of the Cognitive Ethology Laboratory at the DPZ.

 

Proper Processing Is Key To Pathogen Control In Recycled Manure Solids Bedding on Dairy Farms

Research from across 27 Midwest farms found pathogen levels in recycled manure solids bedding varied depending on their processing approach, with combined processing showing the lowest levels of pathogens. (Credit: iStock.com/JackF)

 October 27, 2025

By Eurasia Review

Bedding choice is a crucial factor in both cow comfort and udder health, and dairy farms in the Midwest are increasingly turning to recycled manure solids (RMS) as a cost-effective and readily available option. But because RMS originates from manure, questions remain about whether it can harbor mastitis-causing bacteria or other pathogens.

A new cross-sectional study in JDS Communications, published by Elsevier, explores how different processing methods affect pathogen levels, giving producers clearer insight into the benefits and limitations of RMS bedding.

“Recycled manure solids, obtained by separating the solids and liquids from manure slurry with and without further steps, are increasingly popular as bedding because they are comfortable for cows, economical, widely available, and support circular waste management systems that can help farms boost sustainability,” explained Felipe Peña-Mosca, DVM, MSc, PhD, postdoctoral associate at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and lead author on the study. “But questions remain about their potential to harbor bacteria that affect udder health and spread pathogens when RMS are shared between farms.”

The study, led by primary investigator Sandra Godden, DVM, DVSc, professor at the University of Minnesota and co-primary investigator Dr. Peña-Mosca, examined 27 dairy farms across Minnesota and Wisconsin that used different RMS preparation systems, including raw or green solids, digester-only using anaerobic digestion without additional treatment, secondary processing only using composting or drying methods, and lastly, processing that used a digester plus a secondary method of composting or drying. The team sampled slurry and bedding materials—before and after each step in processing—and analyzed them for mastitis pathogens as well as Salmonella spp., Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis, and Campylobacter jejuni.

They found that the single-step treatments—digester only and secondary processing only—could reduce bacterial levels of both mastitis and nonmastitis pathogens compared with raw or green solids, but both were still detectable in the final bedding product in many cases. Instead, the clearest improvements came from farms that combined anaerobic digestion with a secondary treatment step, such as composting or drying. In these systems, the researchers saw lower counts of mastitis pathogens, and importantly, did not detect any Salmonella spp. or Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis in the ready-to-use bedding samples.

“Our findings suggest that combining digester systems with secondary processing can help reduce pathogen risks more effectively than single methods alone,” said Dr. Peña-Mosca. “This approach could help lower the transmission risk not only of mastitis-causing bacteria but also of other highly prevalent pathogens on dairy farms.”

The authors note that the study was observational and limited to summer months, so further work is needed to assess consistency across seasons and farm sizes, along with the economics of these processes for farms. Still, the findings add valuable evidence for producers weighing the tradeoffs of different bedding systems.

“This study provides important information for producers and veterinarians as they evaluate bedding options,” said Dr. Godden. “It highlights how processing choices can influence pathogen levels and, ultimately, udder health.”

Norway Leads Global EV Adoption

By ZeroHedge - Oct 26, 202

• The global market for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) exceeded 10 million annual sales in 2024, marking a nearly 10 percent increase from 2023, with China also achieving a milestone of over one million electric cars sold in a single month in May 2025.
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• Norway leads the world in electric vehicle adoption, with over 90 percent of newly registered passenger cars being electric in the first half of 2025, while Denmark and the Netherlands also show high market shares, contrasting with the United States' lower adoption rate.
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• Norway's highly effective policy measures, such as tax and toll exemptions, are not easily transferable to other countries due to its unique economic conditions, including high vehicle import duties and a high median household income.
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With sales continuing to thrive in many countries, the global market for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surpassed the 10 million annual sales mark for the first time in 2024, with sales up nearly 10 percent compared to 2023. More recently, in May 2025, China also reached a major milestone, with over one million electric cars sold in a single month, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

While China unsurprisingly dominates the global market in terms of sales volume, some European countries still lead the way in terms of adoption (looking at the share of BEVs in new car sales).

As Statista's Tristan Gaudiaut details below, for several years now, Norway has been a notable exception at the top of the list: in the first half of 2025, according to data compiled by PwC, more than 90 percent of newly registered passenger cars in that country were electric, a record.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Reflecting the rapid adoption of electric mobility in Northern Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands also have some of the highest market shares: 63.6 percent and 35.0 percent, respectively (between one and two out of every three new vehicles sold). Outside Europe, China leads the way in terms of adoption, with a BEV share of 29.8 percent in the first half of the year (including commercial vehicles). In comparison, the United States lags with a BEV share of just 7.3 percent.

While Norway’s policy measures (such as tax exemptions, toll exemptions, and other incentives) did prove highly effective in promoting electric cars, the Norwegian model cannot be easily transferred to other countries.

First and foremost, this country imposes hefty vehicle import duties and car registration taxes, making cars significantly more expensive than, say, in the United States. By waiving these duties for electric vehicles, Norway is effectively subsidizing EV purchases at a level that a larger country such as the U.S. couldn’t afford.

Secondly, Norway is a very wealthy country (ironically, thanks to its oil reserves) with a high level of income.

According to Norway's national statistical institute, the country’s median household income after taxes was around $64,000 in 2025, which is roughly level with the United States but significantly higher than the EU average.

By Zerohedge

Gaps In Ecosystem Service Investments In Norwegian Forest Governance

A Norwegian forest landscape in autumn colours. Photo credit: Odd Terje Sandlund/NIN

 October 27, 2025 

By Eurasia Review

A new study reveals significant gaps in how investments are allocated in the governance of Norwegian forests. Several essential forest ecosystem services remain underfunded or neglected.

Economic instruments like subsidies and tax reliefs are widely used to promote forest ecosystem services. However, such instruments typically target services traded in markets, such as timber and hunting licenses. Non-market services like habitat provision and climate regulation are declining worldwide.

With Norway as a case, researchers have mapped economic instruments used in Norwegian forest governance and examined how they promote or constrain forests’ capacity to provide different ecosystem services (see facts below).

Data was collected from a review of policy documents and fiscal budgets, compared with data on trends and condition of ecosystem services from Norwegian forests.

Facts: Ecosystem Services – The Benefits of Nature

Forests play a vital role in supporting people and societies by delivering a wide range of ecosystem services—the benefits we receive from nature:

Provisioning services are the tangible goods forests supply, such as timber, food, and clean water.

Regulating services act as nature’s life-support systems, including carbon storage, water purification, soil formation and nutrient cycling.

Supporting services are the fundamental processes that make life possible, such as habitat provision for species.

Cultural services represent the non-material benefits of nature—recreation, a sense of place, and spiritual or cultural values that enrich human life.

Together, these services illustrate how forests are not just sources of raw materials, but also the foundation of human well-being, biodiversity, and resilience in the face of environmental change. When ecosystems are degraded, these services decline, compromising society’s life support systems.

Focus on Marketable Goods

The study reveals that ecosystem services traded in markets attract the majority of investments in Norwegian forests, with timber alone generating almost 600 million euros annually. Hunting licenses contribute an additional 70 million euros per year, while government funding and tax relief schemes that promote timber production amount to an additional 38 million euros per year.

“In contrast, ecosystem services that are harder to quantify and that do typically not enter market exchanges receive a fraction of investments compared to timber”, says Elisabeth Veivåg Helseth, head author and researcher at The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA).

An exception is the government expenditure to promote habitat protection through ‘voluntary forest conservation’, amounting to 43 million euros per year.

A Call for a More Balanced Approach

The continuous promotion of timber production, both through markets and public spending, constrains forests’ capacity to supply several regulating, cultural, and supporting services. For example, industrial forestry practices are often associated with clear-felling and infrastructure development, which negatively affect the long-term capacity of forests to provide essential services like nutrient cycling, regulation of extreme events, and habitat.

The study also found no economic instruments directly targeting cultural ecosystem services aimed at revitalizing local, cultural relationships between people and forests.

This disparity suggests that Norwegian forest governance remains heavily focused on provisioning ecosystem services, with limited investment in cultural, regulating, and supporting services.

“To achieve a sustainable and balanced forest governance model in Norway, we recommend reallocating funds from overemphasized provisioning services like timber production towards those ecosystem services that are in decline”, says Helseth.

Sustainability Transformation in Future Forest Governance

By viewing Norwegian forest governance through the four sustainability pathways developed by IPBES (see facts below), the study discusses the relationship between forest investments and overall societal goals and values.

Results indicate that economic instruments applied in Norwegian forest governance primarily align with a green economy pathway, increasing timber production and carbon sequestration to promote an envisioned ‘bioeconomy’.

Although the ‘voluntary forest conservation’ scheme align with a nature protection pathway by enhancing habitat for biodiversity, few of the assessed economic instruments align with policy measures associated with either a degrowth pathway (such as reducing production and consumption) or an earth stewardship pathway (such as promoting traditional knowledge and human-forest relationships).

“Based on our study, we underline that a true sustainability transformation will require more than shifting financial investments. It calls for policies that recognize the full range of forest values, biodiversity, cultural values, and the regulation of ecosystem function, ensuring that future governance goes beyond timber to reflect society’s broader goals”, Helseth concludes.

Facts: IPBES’ Sustainability Pathways

In the IPBES Values Assessment (2022), four diverging sustainability pathways were presented. They illustrate different understandings of how societies can live well while safeguarding nature:

1. Green economy / Green growth: Focuses on continued economic growth, but with a shift toward renewable energy, green technology, and more sustainable industries.

2. Degrowth: Challenges the idea that endless growth is sustainable. Emphasizes reducing consumption and production, especially in wealthy countries, to stay within planetary boundaries

3. Nature Protection: Prioritizes strict conservation of biodiversity and large areas of nature. Calls for expanding protected areas, reducing human impacts, and leaving more space for ecosystems to thrive.

4. Earth Stewardship: Emphasizes repairing and strengthening the relationship between humans and nature. Focuses on local stewardship, traditional knowledge, and community rights.