Bangladesh, Nov. 15 -- In 2018, President Donald Trumps first social-media post of the year captured a sentiment long held by many observers of US-Pakistan relations. Trump expressed frustration over what he saw as more than a decade of American generosity met with deception and duplicity. Over the preceding 15 years, he noted, the United States had “foolishly” given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid, only to receive “nothing but lies and deceit” in return. His administration subsequently suspended security assistance to Pakistan, citing the countrys continued harboring of terrorists, including its concealment of Osama bin Laden for nearly a decade after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

At the time, this stanc...