Indian-Origin, Pak Critic: Who Is Paul Kapur, Donald Trump’s Nominee for Top South Asia Job?- wna24

US President Donald Trump has nominated Paul Kapur, an expert on India- Pakistan security and nuclear issues of Indian origin, for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.

If confirmed by the Senate, Kapur will replace Donald Lu.

In January, the US State Department confirmed the departure of Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, as his term concluded on January 17, 2025.

The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs handles US foreign policy and relations with the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh , Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Kapur is a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

As an expert in South Asian politics, he has been a critic of Pakistan.

From 2020 to 2021, he served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, working on issues related to South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and US-India relations.

He is also the co-author of India, Pakistan, and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia and co-editor of The Challenges of Nuclear Security: US and Indian Perspectives.

Kapur earned his PhD from the University of Chicago. According to his bio, Kapur also directs a United States-India Track 1.5 strategic dialogue, as well as other US-India engagements for the Department of Defense.

Trump’s administration consists of several individuals of Indian origin in key positions, including Kash Patel as FBI Director and Sriram Krishnan as White House policy adviser on Artificial Intelligence.