Public sentiment towards the US-Pakistan relationship is predominantly negative, characterized by skepticism, criticism of perceived hypocrisy, and distrust in US intentions. Many commenters express disappointment with the US's renewed ties with Pakistan and fear repercussions for regional security, especially concerning India's strategic interests. Critics also highlight the inadequacies of US foreign policy and its failure to consider historical contexts.

United States

Pakistan

India

If I had to guess, leverage to get India to stop buying Russian oil

IndependentThink4698

I’d suggest looking at reportage since February 2022 from The Intercept and then DropSite News about Pakistan. Though denied, it is clear that the U.S. at the very least indirectly told Pakistan’s military that overthrowing Imran Khan would lead to better ties. They were quite displeased that Khan went to Russia soon after the invasion of Ukraine and publicly declared neutrality.

IMF shenanigans were provided for Pakistan in exchange for munitions to be sent to Ukraine; munitions that the West does not have the capacity to produce.

Edit: adjusted the last sentence for grammar.

not_GBPirate

The first reason to come to mind is to pressure India with the "stick" over its Russia ties.

But the relations have also improved in their own right notably since the Israel-Iran War. It seems likely that Pakistan helped the US who then helped Israel with intelligence on Iran during the war.

There is also the tertiary motivation to step up engagement so Pakistan doesn't become a Laos-type vassal to China. Pakistan is greatly populated &amp; militarized, giving China access to the Indian Ocean so this is important for the US to compete/counter.

That last reason though only matters because the US feels India does not do enough to counter China particularly in the Pacific (India is against the militarization of the Quad).

Still_There3603

As a Chinese, I think the answer is simple: because Pakistan proved its worth in the air war with India and raised its international status.


If the U.S. continues to do nothing to Pakistan, Pakistan will completely fall back to China (in fact, Pakistan is already deeply cooperating with China politically, economically, and militarily), and the U.S. has nothing to squeeze Pakistan with, so adopting a soft policy is the only option.


The US realizes that India is not strong enough to clamp down on China - they are even at a disadvantage in a military confrontation with Pakistan, so how can they expect India to pressure China?

bjran8888

Daily reminder that the US has supported Pakistan for longer than Israel, still gives them tech and money despite them housing Daniel Pearl’s murder and (of all people) Osama Bin Laden, and even supported them with a nuclear threat WHILE Pakistan was issuing genocidal fatwas to rape and kill non-Muslims in now Bangladesh to the tune of numbers that are only dwarfed by the actual Holocaust in 1971.

IOW, if this is “rapprochement”, then I don’t know what “total and utter ally” is.  I’m only half kidding when I say that Pakistan could potentially nuke Delhi and subsequently issue a fatwa to rape all non Muslim women in Mumbai, and somehow the Americans (and Chinese) would find some way to look past it with hardly a peep from Europe.  Maybe a few “smh” online though.

resuwreckoning

American Deep state always been closer to Pakistan going back 1950s. 

Stupid corporate Dem love Bharat.

PossibleGazelle519

Improving relations with India without fully alienating Pakistan has always been how the USA has done things. 

An alienated Pakistan moves closer to China, while an alienated India moves closer to Russia. 

However, considering how weak Russia is now, perhaps this is shifting, and India moving closer to Russia isn't as much of a concern.

I'm quite interested to see how this all turns out.

mynameakevin

Rumors are rife that Pakistani F-16s might be eligible for V (Blk 70) upgrades.

Clearly, Pakistan is currently in the good books of USA because:

1-Pakistan showed extreme composure and calm and de-escalatory motives during recent Indo Pak clashes even though India attacked Pakistan with absolute no reasoning and got its ass whipped

2-Pakistan downed each of India's top fighter jets, Rafales, MKI, M2K, Mig 29 with no loss of own. Pakistan could have shot down way more. There is nothing India has that can out range Pl15 missiles.

3-USA wasn't expecting this, and US intelligence informed Trump that Indians are about to be sent to oblivion on May 9th, which is what forced USA to get into ceasefire talks

4-USA knows and world knows that Pakistan is a powerful country in south asian and central asian region. India is no where near what it portrays itself to be. India cannot win from Pakistan let alone counter China.

5-Americans have been pretty pissed with Indians, H1Bs, Tech ofshoring etc. So Americans themselves don't have soft corner for Indians anymore

If anything, this is all positive for Pakistan and Pakistan must take this opportunity. Recently, the US EXIMP also approved financing for Reko Diq.....this is rare and rarely US EXIMP banks approve loans for Pakistani projects.

Important-Parsley-38

trump don't like losers.. and when he said 5 jets got shot down, he knows exactly who shot down who.

on and india is too smart for itself, believe in nothing, not aligned with anyone, no full comittment whatsoever, but absolutely takes any tiny small advantage it can.. reselling russian oil, reselling chinese rare earth etc.. earning tiny money but piss off everyone at the same time... but yet still want the benefit from all sides... all that does is that you so smart, no one trusts you, just literally ask anyone about the reputation of indian businessman in the world, never EVER do payment plan with indian businessman, 100% full front cash payment or nothing else, if you dont, your indian buyer's deposit = full payment lol

SelectGear3535

They were so ‘phenomenal’ that they were able to hide OBL for years within a mile of their military academy without the CIA getting a whiff of it

panem-et-circenses21

Didn't Pakistan sell nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya, and Nirth Korea?

Negative_Gravitas

I wonder what changed after they hid bin laden for a decade

HeftyArgument

Looks like Pakistan is all set to be used in war against Iran.By US and Israel.

So much for social media accounts with Pakistani flags screeching ‘Free Palestine’ all over social media and on streets…lol

This will be good realization for Pakistan who live in denial and call Zia-Ul-Haq’s murder of Palestinians in Jordan ‘fake news’

Very_Patient

macross1984

Pakistan 🤝America against anti- terrorism ???🤣🤣🤣


Who r you kidding dude. One thrives on terrorism and the other on supplying it.

Griffindor-69

"But hey why doesn't India talk shit about Russia? It isn't as if the US has always backstabbed India."

4th_May

I am calling it now, the alliance with Pakistan is the only US alliance that will survive trump. Why? Because it is the dumbest alliance they have. It ruins the relationship with India and only serves to strengthen china, the real alliance partner of Pakistan. So of course trump will never get rid of it.

printzonic

Lovecraft3XX

[deleted]

And West gives India lectures on how to make decisions

Lonely-Internet-7565

TorontoGiraffe

It is true. They kept Osama Bin Laden under strict surveillance so that he could not create another 9/11.

TheLostRavager

Thankyou west for supporting Us(READ YESTERDAY NEWS) . Now world should see real face of USA

Hot take,  but if a country as insanely theocratic as Pakistan can have nukes and not use them, Iran should probably have one too. MAD is real and maybe Iran and Israel would calm the fuck down with eachother

TRIBETWELVE

Few-Parfait-1432

If Iran state fails, this will likely mess things in the Central Asia very much.

float34

They are ignoring one thing, Pakistan was most important ally to counter Soviet territorial expansion. The whole mess started when religion became key factor for international relationship after collapse of Soviet. Now Pakistan's is going to be played by India and Soviet getting replaced by China.

InterviewTricky7429

I think Pakistan harbouring terrorists to wage a proxy war for Kashmir and Pakistan providing intel and support to terrorists opposed to US security can co exist. Ofcourse US will prioritize its own security over an blanket policy of world peace unless it's threatens it's security. Almost all countries operate from this self centric view. Global geopolitics and alliances are very transient and dynamic.

sandman-blitz

Got it. So he’s trying to be diplomatic as the US wants relationships with both Pakistan and India. 

But this is Reddit so everyone immediately jumps to a conclusion and picks a side that must be right while the other side is terrible.

Betteroffbroke

Pakistan and Murica have actually always had great historical ties and worked on countless counterterrorism ops too both in Pak and Afghan so no surprise. What is surprising is Pakistan is one of those countries maintaining excellent ties with China, good with US and warm with Russia - definitely uniquely positioned from a geopolitical POV

moongroup

I usually don't say it on the internet but this hate for Bharat started way back in 1490s when Columbus voyaged for the new route towards our country. Those native americans were supposed to be our ancestors but by grace we got saved. Their rage of not getting Bharat since that day reflects to this present moment too. This is totally my opinion, I may be wrong too.

Immediate-Humor-6077

Abey bhai woh video AI generated hai not originally from Jordan.

Prestigious_Diet9503

The video is AI generated. Content is good but it’s not Jordan Peterson.

karanarak09

Arzin-yubin

This is an AI video...don't trust these videos.

WealthTomorrow0810

We should not see historical records of usa actions before the end of cold war. Because back then it was a matter of existential threat for them from the ever expanding soviet union.

criti_fin

The audio feels like its AI gnerated but good video nevertheless.

Perfect_Put_7832

lakshmi_chitfund_



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GeoIndModBot

Maybe cuz India acted as a fence sitter in Russia Ukraine issue?

Temporary_Editor958

About the IMF loan: India which earlier said that they'll oppose the loan ended up abstaining. This clearly shows there was some negotiation about the loan, i.e., the loan was used as a leverage within the backdoor deal that we all know has passed.

IMO the biggest proof that Pakistan was on the absolute backfoot was that within the ceasefire, they could have restored status quo within the IWT but failed. We crossed *the* biggest red line they had and all they did was deploy forces across the border, which are now being called back as we speak, probably at Pakistan's request as both KPK and Balochistan erupted the moment there was pressure on their eastern front.

In other words, I believe the loan was passed with Indian support. In return, Pakistan drops their demand to restore the IWT. Obviously Pakistan is the big loser in this- they would've gotten the loan anyway, now they have the loan but their biggest cities were bombed (I'll be damned if this doesn't cause atleast some capital flight, which they can barely afford), and they lose their food and water security. This will worsen their control over Sindh, as Sindh faces water scarcity over Punjab's disproportionate water usage. As water resources dwindle, Sindh will be affected far more than Punjab.

 The next few years for Pakistan will be an economic hell. 

Don't care about the other commenter messaging about Pakistani defence orders. They're teensy in comparison to Indian support and defense orders (P-8i, Apache, our support to Israel is absolutely critical for the country, Globemasters)

DickBlaster619

moon_burger

In my opinion, it is clear that the Pahalgam attack was a planned move to create unrest between India and Pakistan—possibly orchestrated by the USA or China-Pakistan nexus—due to the ongoing trade war between China and the USA. A viral clip from a Pakistani official suggests that Asim Munir planned the attack for personal interests. As we all know, the USA has been accused of indirectly funding terrorism, and China openly supports Pakistan. So, it seems likely that either the USA or China was involved.

Recently, ThePrint India published an article revealing that since June, satellite images of the Pahalgam stalemate were being purchased by a Pakistani company, whose founder is a US-sanctioned criminal. In retaliation, India has started to dominate Chinese and American military equipment markets by relying on its indigenous defense systems and Russian military products.

In my view, the Western and Pakistani media are spreading lies and propaganda about Indian aircraft losses and other damages. If the truth came out—that India successfully destroyed their aircraft, airbases, and drones—the demand for US and Chinese military gadgets would decline, which neither of those countries wants.

After all of this, the US suddenly announced a trade agreement with China. Some reports even suggest that India struck a Pakistani nuclear site, causing panic in both Pakistan and the USA, which may have led them to propose a ceasefire with India.

YellowlovesBrown

The IMF vote was payback for India refusing to part ways with Russia in favor of Ukraine. Ironically, it looks like Russia voted in favour of Pak too. India was the only abstention. Most of them win if ground war continues because they get more military contracts.

It’s important to understand that SEA gets very little importance from US/ UK/ EU anyway except when we’re defence or trade customers. India-Pak issues are seen as domestic conflicts much as JD Vance said originally. They just keep funding Pak in the hopes that the government stays in power because a failed factional state with nukes is the worst outcome imaginable.

Godi media hasn’t helped things by being ill-informed, belligerent chest thumpers that no one outside our country takes seriously. Worse, people dismiss Indian news outlets entirely now.

Increasingly, thanks to social media, people lack historical context. I had a long conversation where an American absolutely jumped down my throat for being a nationalist (apparently all Indians are) and said we had continued supporting Pak by not suspending IWT(!) 

Others less nonsensical say it’s a self-inflicted issue for India. Ukrainians and EU people hate us because we are seen as cozy with Russians. I don’t know why they don’t blame US or China as much. Saudis have been allies with Pak. Hamas/ Palestine too. Chinese and Pakistani have a very significant social presence and were actively waging an informational warfare that we lost. 

So yeah, we’re pretty isolated diplomatically.

Prottusha1

https://www.youtube.com/live/sR6TGjp3Tu0?si=hJCUHmfgg10P5Ma9

Video that must be used as frame of reference by both India and  Pakistan

Dogaseven70

Pakistan was meant to be a military outpost to the Brits (Anglo Saxon clan) to check the Soviets (The Great Game)

The USA has been the leader of the pack since the Suez crisis. Over time, USA Has massively benefited during the Soviet invasion (Mujahideen phase) and recently Afghanistan where Pak actively created the Taliban cells + as a access route/logistics hub as there is alnd route from the Arabian sea. 

India's turn to Soviets was due to this + had to be done during the 71 war when the Americans and British sent their fleets  (in support of Pak) over to the Indian Ocean.  

All this coupled with IMF bailouts and their liberal media using the talking points which have anti India (and not so anti Pak) biases.

It's just recently (post 2008 nuclear deal) is when India has started to pivot to the USA due to the China factor and also diversity weapon supplies from the Russians. 

And it's all the game the great powers play - use a counterweight to each small/regional power to keep them in check. India's counterweight is Pak, China's counterweight is India (and other countries - Japan,  Philippines)

AncientDebris

Dear OP, let us look at certain known behavioural and historical facts.

In international politics leadership is based on economic and military superiority. Once a nation tastes leadership status it is addicted to it. All efforts are made by such nations to maintain status quo. These efforts could be as direct as military interventions or regime change operations or indirect as insurgency support and instability generation in geographical areas considered as likely threats. The aim being to delay or deny higher power status to aspirants. 

Geographically, the only country, other than the established powers, that has the geopolitical largesse (demography, size, resource, location etc) to rise to the forefront of international politics is India. So, in the list of aspirants, India stands in front. Obviously, there would be effort to deny or delay this rise as much as possible.

The most important natural faultline in this region is the creation of the state of Pakistan on religious basis. This was done by UK and its allies with the intention to keep this area divided with deep set and irreconcilable differences based on religion. Since 1948, these differences have led to major armed confrontations in the area. The inability of Indian leadership to create a value factor in the two important fields of economics and military, since then, made us an easy country to manipulate. In the absence of direct manipulation due Cold War realities, Pakistan was the proxy that was used to tweak us. Post Cold War, Pakistan was used to check India's rise through Kashmir and later, through religious radicalisation and terrorism. 

Nuclearisation of Pakistan was a master stroke, 'allowed' by the US only to keep India, Iran + West Asia in check. It also made the equation, India=Pakistan (militarily) viable. Iran and its moneyed allies came into the sway of the Islamic Bomb in Pakistan and it slowed their own independent growth towards this dream. Ofc, US understood the danger of the game it was playing, but it seems it just did not care. China came late into the game, understood the importance of Pakistan to US intentions and set about changing the rules. India's rise was slow and with lack of character, vision and political leadership, we did not do much to change the situation. This would have continued indefinitely but for the rise of Narendra Modi as the PM in 2014.

This is the short sweet summary of how I look at the events unfolding in this region geopolitically and culminating with Op Sindoor. The last ten years have been seminal for the nation and there is no looking back. Pakistan's nuclear bluff has been called. Things have changed in this region now. The relationship between this three plus one (USA, China, India and + Russia) is not very clear now but will be very soon.

AbhayOye

Its geography - Pakistan borders Iran and Afghanistan who are not friendly to the US. Even when Soviets were in Afghanistan, they used Pakistan as a proxy to get weapons into Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. This is a deep alliance which stretches back to those Cold War years, when Pakistan aligned themselves to US because they did not like Soviets on their border.

When the US was in Afghanistan in 2000s, they used to get supplies through Pakistan, and had or still have CIA black sites there. 

Stability in Pakistan is important for them as part of their larger Middle East strategy. 

India has only recently come into their view as a strategic ally due to the rise of China. But they still have doubts about our ability to actually stand up to China and so don’t want to commit fully to us.

Melodic_Inside

Well, Pakistan’s importance to the US comes down to where it is and what it’s surrounded by. It borders Afghanistan, Iran, India, and China, four countries that have each been on the US radar for varying reasons. Back when the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 is when Pakistan became crucial. The US needed supply routes, drone access, and local intel, and Pakistan offered all of that, albeit imperfectly. There wasn’t a better alternative for the US at the time anyway. From 2001 to around 2014, when NATO combat operations started winding down, Pakistan was basically viewed by the west as a necessary evil in the region.

Then there’s the nuclear factor. Pakistan became a nuclear state in 1998, 14 years after India's first successful nuclear test "Operation Smiling Buddha" in 1974. The US didn’t love that, but it accepted it and shifted to a policy of managing the risks. The worst case scenario for the US is either a India Pakistan war turning nuclear or Pakistani nukes ending up in the hands of Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed. So the US keeps communication channels open because it has to prevent these worst case outcomes.

Post 9/11, the "counterterrorism" relationship got deeper. The US pumped billions into Pakistan’s military and intelligence through aid and coalition support funds. At the same time, Pakistan quintessentially played a double game by publicly supporting the US war on terror while quietly letting groups like the Taliban operate in its tribal areas. This hypocrisy reached its peak in 2011 when Osama bin Laden was found and killed in Abbottabad, basically down the road from a major military academy. Even after that, ties continued because again, there were no better options in the region. The US needed someone with reach into Afghanistan’s militant networks, and Pakistan was the only one with that access.

China also plays a significant role; they've been investing in Pakistan since the early 2010s under the Belt and Road Initiative. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor launched gave Beijing access to Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea and deepened its influence in the region. From the US perspective, this is a slow strategic loss. China gains a maritime route, economic leverage, and possibly even naval presence in the future. So the US has to keep a close relationship with Pakistan, albeit begrudgingly. On a current note too, I'm not really surprised that China supports Pakistan so firmly. They're clearly using Pakistan as a proxy platform for showcasing Chine defence capabilities. Military hardware, munitions, diplomatic support on the global stage, China gives Pakistan everything.

Also, during the Cold War, especially from the 1950s to the 1980s, Pakistan was aligned with the US, joining alliances like SEATO and CENTO. Then again during the Soviet Afghan War, the US and Pakistan worked together to arm and fund the mujahideen. That era built long-standing institutional links, especially between intelligence and military communities, that haven’t completely faded.

About the IMF loan, I do agree that it feels somewhat like a diplomatic failure that Pakistan was yet again bailed out while having a reputation for funding terrorism that directly targets India. Perhaps our relationships with the US and EU are not as great as the government would like to have us believe (shocker). However, there’s always the chance that backdoor diplomacy is playing out in ways we may or may not be assuaged to after the fog of war has lifted, so can't really know for certain for now.

histaltlephrastus

In simple terms, India aspires to be a big guy and everyone knows it has the potential to become a big but it’s not big yet. We don’t know when it will become big enough. No one supports anyone in becoming bigger and powerful than themselves till there is a no way to stop you. 

On the other hand Pakistan is a useful fool. Need bases to spy on Russia, throw some money and you will get bases in Pak. Secret talks with China, Route for Afghan invasion, may be a base in future if Iran doesn’t behave. You throw money at Pak, you can choose whatever you want like a vending machine. head of states, their foreign policy, Chiefs and what not.

They are a great utility in geopolitics. 

If China wasn’t a potential threat, India wouldn’t have a significant geopolitical importance. Even now it’s hard to get India to do anything for western interests. Pak on other hand just waits for your command. Who would you choose.

testuser150

Pakistan is the only Islamic nation and a nuclear power. Iran is trying to be, but finding it difficult.

US doesn't want these nukes to be slipped into the hands of any terrorist or nation state from islamic origin. 

That's why Saudi and Qatar support Pakistan. If any of these 2 nations get nukes, they don't want US anymore. Once that's the case, middle east plus russia read OPEC+ will control oil prices. US loses edge and ground. 

Pakistan should and will be leashed by US, we came very close to change the order and that's why US intervened. Also I think this is in India's best interest because then US will make sure Pakistan does not prosper economically. 

What we need to do is  make sure somehow China is with India (super far fetched) because then India Russia China can change the world order. I honestly don't think this will happen in the near future.

rohitmishra3001

Just like we have good relations with Russia - American and financial relations with China, America wont give up on Pakistan until India drops Russia, China - Russia - America all three of them has made India and Pakistan fools from ages, Like Russia wont do business or deals with Pakistan as its Chinas customer and vice versa with India

Live_Plan_8990

Recent developments highlight a growing cooperation between the US and Pakistan to combat terrorism, particularly concerning groups like the BLA.

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