"The nature of US-Pakistan relations is changing drastically," Ayesha Siddiqa told The News International.

"Now China appears to be the only option. It may be Pakistan’s only hope for economic assistance, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic," she said.

She said: "In the wake of the fast-changing world dynamics, as the coalition among the United States, India, and Saudi Arabia gains strength, Pakistan is drifting away from the US towards a potential alliance between China, Russia and perhaps Iran."

"There are a lot of issues that still need to be worked out between these countries. Pakistan will only benefit if it can do its homework and go beyond the idea of extracting limited benefits," the defence analyst said.

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Speaking on Pakistan's foreign policy, she said: "The nature of our foreign and security policies community is such that it seems to have limited potential to evaluate Pakistan’s three key foreign policy objectives: to fight India, seek financial support as we have never developed our economic strength, and getting recognized as a regional power or leader of an Islamic bloc."