Pakistan’s recent diplomatic outreach to the administration of US President Donald Trump has sparked a notable improvement in bilateral relations — and a sharp response from India — the Financial Times reported on Monday.
In a dispatch from Islamabad, New Delhi, and Washington, the newspaper described an “unexpected resurgence” in ties between Islamabad and Washington. It noted that Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir has been hosted twice in high-level US settings this summer, most recently in Florida for the retirement ceremony of Gen Michael Kurilla, head of US Central Command.
According to the Financial Times, Gen Asim Munir also held a two-hour private lunch with President Trump in June, just a month after Pakistan and India endured their deadliest confrontation in decades — a meeting seen as significant given Trump’s earlier public criticism of Islamabad.
Michael Kugelman, a non-resident senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation, told the paper: “What’s happening in US-Pakistan relations is a surprise. I would describe the relationship now as one enjoying an unexpected resurgence — even a renaissance. Pakistan has been remarkably adept at figuring out how to engage with such an unconventional president.”
The Financial Times linked the shift in US-Pakistan relations to a calculated diplomatic strategy by senior Pakistani officials, blending counterterrorism cooperation with outreach to figures in President Trump’s business network, as well as agreements on energy, mineral resources, and cryptocurrency. This approach, the paper noted, was reinforced by consistently positive messaging towards the White House.
One pivotal moment highlighted was the March arrest and handover to US custody of an ISIS-K suspect accused of orchestrating the 2021 Kabul airport bombing — an action for which Trump publicly praised Pakistan during his State of the Union address.
The Financial Times also reported on an April agreement between World Liberty Financial — a Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture — and Pakistan’s crypto council. During a visit to Pakistan, one of the initiative’s co-founders highlighted the vast scale of the country’s mineral resources.
On the regional front, the paper said India responded with “deep irritation” to the upswing in US-Pakistan relations, especially after Washington raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50% while keeping Pakistan’s rate at 19%. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also rejected Trump’s claim that the US had mediated a May ceasefire between the two neighbors, insisting the accord was achieved directly through their own armed forces.
Leave a comment