‘Cynical exercise’: Brahma Chellaney says Trump’s counterterrorism is only about anti-immigration policies
Chellaney said that the terrorist attack by 29-year-old Afghan refugee, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been “weaponised by Trump to justify further tightening of immigration controls”.
- Dec 2, 2025,
- Updated Dec 2, 2025 9:52 AM IST
Despite being the hotbed of terrorism, Pakistan has not been included in the travel restriction list by the US, which indicates that Washington’s war against terrorism is more of an exercise in politics than actually tackling the issue, said geostrategist Brahma Chellaney.
Chellaney said US’ list does not have countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that have well-documented records of involvement in transnational terrorism but includes countries like Burundi, Myanmar, Laos, and Togo that have no proven link to international terrorism.
He said that the terrorist attack by 29-year-old Afghan refugee, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been “weaponised by Trump to justify further tightening of immigration controls”.
“From the start, the US-led ‘war on terror’ has been less a principled fight against international terrorism than a cynical exercise in geopolitics. And today, under Trump, counterterrorism rhetoric has become a convenient pretext for advancing radical anti-immigrant policies,” said Chellaney.
Trump’s immigration crackdown has led 1.6 million immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, the Department of Homeland Security claimed. Trump said aboard the Air Force One that he planned to initiate a “reverse immigration”, following the National Guard shooting that left Sarah Beckstrom, 20, dead and Andrew Wolfe, 24, seriously injured.
“It means get people out that are in our country, get them out of here. I want to get them out,” he said, blaming former President Joe Biden for the situation. He called Biden the worst president for allowing “millions of people” into the US.
Trump was referring to the Operation Allies Welcome resettlement programme, set up by Biden, after the US military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, leading to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the country's takeover by the Taliban.
Despite being the hotbed of terrorism, Pakistan has not been included in the travel restriction list by the US, which indicates that Washington’s war against terrorism is more of an exercise in politics than actually tackling the issue, said geostrategist Brahma Chellaney.
Chellaney said US’ list does not have countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that have well-documented records of involvement in transnational terrorism but includes countries like Burundi, Myanmar, Laos, and Togo that have no proven link to international terrorism.
He said that the terrorist attack by 29-year-old Afghan refugee, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been “weaponised by Trump to justify further tightening of immigration controls”.
“From the start, the US-led ‘war on terror’ has been less a principled fight against international terrorism than a cynical exercise in geopolitics. And today, under Trump, counterterrorism rhetoric has become a convenient pretext for advancing radical anti-immigrant policies,” said Chellaney.
Trump’s immigration crackdown has led 1.6 million immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, the Department of Homeland Security claimed. Trump said aboard the Air Force One that he planned to initiate a “reverse immigration”, following the National Guard shooting that left Sarah Beckstrom, 20, dead and Andrew Wolfe, 24, seriously injured.
“It means get people out that are in our country, get them out of here. I want to get them out,” he said, blaming former President Joe Biden for the situation. He called Biden the worst president for allowing “millions of people” into the US.
Trump was referring to the Operation Allies Welcome resettlement programme, set up by Biden, after the US military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, leading to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the country's takeover by the Taliban.