Paul Kapur has been sworn in as the new US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, the State Department announced Thursday.
In a post on X, the department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs welcomed him, saying: “This morning Dr. Kapur was officially sworn in as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.”
Kapur replaces Donald Lu, who held the position from 2021 until earlier this year.
The State Department said Kapur took the oath of office on Wednesday, Oct. 22, and officially began his duties. He was nominated for the post by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the US Senate on Oct. 7.
The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs manages US diplomatic engagement with countries across South and Central Asia, including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Kapur was born in New Delhi to an Indian father and an American mother. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago and previously taught national security affairs and served as a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kapur emphasized strengthening US-India relations, saying, “The United States and India share many common interests — maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, advancing trade and technology, and ensuring energy security.”
In the article titled The Jihad Paradox: Pakistan and Islamist Militancy in South Asia he and co‑author Sumit Ganguly write that “supporting jihad has been one of the principal means by which the Pakistani state has sought to produce security for itself.” However, he has not made specific public statements regarding Afghanistan.
