US-Pakistan trade
Source
USTR — https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/south-central-asia/pakistan. Needs final source-line audit.
What it proves
Pakistan-US relations retain a substantial economic dimension.
How to deploy: Use US-Pakistan trade (~US$11.5bn goods+services trade) to support: Pakistan-US relations retain a substantial economic dimension.
What it does not prove: The ~US$11.5bn is two-way goods and services combined, so it says nothing about the direction of the balance, the composition of what is traded, or whether the flows are concentrated in a few low-value-added lines. It is a single-year 2025 USTR total, and a trade volume is not the same as investment, technology transfer or strategic alignment.
Memory hook: US$11.5bn two-way → the US link survives as commerce, both directions counted
Rebuts the claim: "After the Afghanistan drawdown the US-Pakistan relationship has no substance left" — the commercial leg still carried roughly US$11.5bn in goods and services in 2025.