'Crypto deal paying rich dividends,' says Brahma Chellaney as Trump spares Pakistan from visa ban, aid freeze

After a series of moves by US President Donald Trump that appear to favour Islamabad, Brahma Chellaney, an author and geostrategic thinker, on Thursday said that Pakistan's crypto deal with a firm linked to Trump is "paying rich dividends". 

"Trump effectively bailed out Pakistan during its recent military standoff with India, claiming that he used economic-sanctions threat to compel India to halt its military operation after just three days," Chellaney wrote. "By repeating that claim multiple times, he has sought to portray his 'great friend' Modi as yielding to pressure."

"It is also significant that Trump has remained silent on the root cause of the crisis — cross-border terrorism. In fact, Trump has carved out special exceptions for Pakistan from his actions, including exempting $396 million in security assistance for Islamabad from his foreign-aid freeze. Now, Pakistan is conspicuously absent from his dual orders banning citizens of 12 countries from traveling to the U.S. and restricting travel from seven other nations."

In February this year, the Trump administration decided to exempt $397 million in security assistance to Pakistan from its foreign aid cuts. The funds will be allocated to a program that monitors Pakistan's US-made F-16 fighter jets — to make sure that they are used for counterterrorism, and not for action against India, Foreign Policy reported on April 25.

In a separate tweet earlier in the day, Chellaney also pointed out that while Washington targeted Myanmar in its visa ban, it spared Pakistan - which is known for backing global terrorists. "Trump's entry ban on visitors from 12 countries includes Myanmar (where the US is aiding anti-junta rebels), but excludes terrorism-hub Pakistan, indicating his embrace of the Deep State approach to India's neighborhood."

Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation banning travel from 12 countries, citing national security concerns. The ban targets nations that are "deficient with regards to screening and vetting" and "pose a very high risk to the United States," the White House said. These include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. 

The order, effective June 9, also imposes partial restrictions on visitors from seven other countries, such as Cuba and Venezuela, for high visa overstay rates or lack of cooperation with U.S. authorities. Trump announced the ban on Truth Social, referring to Sunday's Colorado attack in which an Egyptian national set fire to demonstrators demanding the release of hostages in Gaza. He said: "We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen."

Notably, Pakistan was excluded from both the total ban and the partial restriction list — a detail that has drawn attention in the region. Some observers have linked Trump's actions to a recent crypto deal with Pakistan. On April 26, World Liberty Financial Inc (WLFI) — a crypto exchange firm majority-owned by the Trump family — signed a Letter of Intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), a group formed just weeks earlier. WLFI lists Donald Trump as "Chief Crypto Advocate", with Donald Jr, Eric Trump, and Barron Trump on the leadership team.

WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff is the son of Trump's longtime real estate associate Steve Witkoff. Steve is currently serving as Trump's special envoy on crypto affairs.

Trump's venture into crypto products has increased his family's wealth by billions in the last six months, CBS News reported on May 2, citing a new report. The group - State Democracy Defenders Action - estimated in a report that the US President's crypto holdings now represent nearly 40% of his net worth — or approximately $2.9 billion. That increase, the report said, is due in part to his release of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins, in addition to a large stake in WLFI.