Pakistan-US ties boost worries India: Financial Times

Globally renowned British newspaper Financial Times has claimed that relations between Pakistan and the United States have witnessed an unexpected improvement, causing deep concern in India.

This development comes as a result of recent diplomatic engagements between the administration of US President Donald Trump and Pakistan.

The report states that Field Marshal General Asim Munir made two high-level visits to the US this summer. The most recent was to Florida, where he attended the retirement ceremony of US Central Command Chief General Michael Kurilla.

Earlier in June, General Munir had a private two-hour luncheon with President Trump, just a month after the deadliest Pakistan-India clash in decades.

This meeting is seen as particularly significant because, in the past, Donald Trump had openly criticised Pakistan. However, the dynamics have now shifted entirely.

Michael Kugelman, a senior analyst at the Asia Pacific Foundation, told Financial Times: “This development in US-Pakistan relations is surprising. I would call it an unexpected reset, even a new era. Pakistan has mastered the art of engaging with this unconventional president.”

The report notes that Pakistan achieved this success through a comprehensive strategy, including counter-terrorism cooperation, access to influential figures in Trump’s business network, agreements on energy, mineral resources, and cryptocurrency, as well as sustained positive messaging toward the White House.

In a major breakthrough, Financial Times revealed that in March, Pakistan arrested and handed over to US authorities a key ISIS-K operative believed to be the mastermind of the 2021 Kabul airport bombing. President Trump hailed this arrest in his State of the Union address as a major Pakistani achievement.

Furthermore, in April, Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial signed an agreement with Pakistan’s Crypto Council. One of the project’s founders, during a visit to Pakistan, praised the country’s vast mineral wealth.

According to the report, India has been infuriated by this rapidly evolving relationship—especially after the US imposed a 50% import tariff on India while keeping it at just 19% for Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also denied Trump’s claim that the US mediated a ceasefire between Pakistan and India in May, insisting that the agreement was reached through direct military talks between the two nations’ armed forces.