Meet Indian-American Paul Kapur, Trump’s US State Chief For South Asia – What He Thinks About Pakistan | World News

Washington: Indian American security expert Paul Kapur officially took office as assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on Wednesday. The bureau confirmed the appointment on X (formerly Twitter): “Welcome to @State_SCA, Deputy Secretary Paul Kapur! This morning, Dr. Kapur was officially sworn in as Deputy Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.”

He replaces Donald Lu, who served from September 2021 to January 2025.

Kapur will oversee U.S. diplomacy, strategic partnerships and regional engagement in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Its responsibilities include security, economic cooperation, counter-terrorism and infrastructure development.

Kapur, 52, was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother. He reflected on his origins during his Senate confirmation hearing in June.

“I can’t escape the feeling of having come full circle. I was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother. Although I visited India frequently throughout my childhood, I grew up in the United States as an all-American child and never imagined that my career would one day take me back to the place of my birth,” he said.

Kapur served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff from 2020 to 2021, focusing on South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and India-U.S. relations. He led the India-US Track 1.5 dialogue and other strategic defense engagements. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a doctorate from the University of Chicago.

He is a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is also a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

Kapur has written numerous books on South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. His work covers nuclear proliferation, Islamist militancy, deterrence, and regional security. In his article titled ‘Jihad as Grand Strategy: Islamist Militancy, National Security and the Pakistani State’, he argued that Pakistan’s use of jihad was a deliberate government strategy rather than a product of instability.

Regarding Pakistan, he said he would “continue security cooperation if it is beneficial to US interests.”

During his confirmation hearing, Kapur outlined his approach to India-US relations. “The United States and India share a number of common interests: ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region that is not dominated by China; expanding bilateral trade; building our economic relationship to be more symmetrical and profitable; facilitating technology sharing and innovation; and providing access to the energy needed to fuel our economies,” he said.

In early October, Kapur was confirmed by the Senate along with the new US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.