Washington’s Outreach To Pakistan’s Military Key Challenge To India-US Relations

A significant obstacle in India–US relations stems from Washington’s renewed outreach to Pakistan’s military establishment, according to Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of the Observer Research Foundation America.

Addressing India’s concerns, Jaishankar explained that the core issue "relates to the United States' renewed engagement with Pakistan's military leadership."

"Pakistan has a long and well-documented history of using non-state terrorist proxies against India. As a result, over many years, India's experience is that third-party mediation has often contributed to Pakistan's adventurism. The United States has pursued a policy of de-hyphenation between India and Pakistan, engaging with both but minimising involvement in their disputes. There remains considerable progress for future collaboration should differences over trade, and Pakistan be successfully managed between the United States and India...," he added.

Jaishankar made his observations at the House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee hearing titled, 'The U.S.–India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific'.

The discussion came shortly after the Trump administration approved $1.25 billion in US Export–Import (EXIM) Bank financing for Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper-gold mining project in Balochistan, a region rich in minerals, but long affected by militancy and unrest.

In a video message posted on X, US Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad Natalie Baker announced that the EXIM Bank intends to invest up to USD 2 billion in Pakistan’s mining sector. She said over the next year, EXIM financing will bring investment in “high-quality US mining equipment and services” required to develop and operate the Reko Diq site, while also generating an estimated 6,000 jobs in the United States and 7,500 jobs in Balochistan.

Earlier in July, Trump had also unveiled a separate trade initiative aimed at supporting the development of Pakistan’s oil resources. "We have just concluded a deal with Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves. We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India someday!", Trump wrote, in a post on Truth Social.