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“Not At India’s Expense”: Marco Rubio On US-Pakistan Ties
Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that Washington’s efforts to strengthen its ties with Pakistan will not weaken its historic partnership with India. He reiterated that the U.S.-India relationship is “deep, historic and important” and must not suffer because of new engagements with Islamabad.
Context Of Evolving Regional Ties
Rubio’s remarks come amid a noticeable uptick in U.S.-Pakistan diplomatic and economic interactions, including cooperation on defence and critical-minerals sectors. While the U.S. sees opportunity in expanding ties with Pakistan, Rubio emphasised that these moves are not zero-sum and should not impact India’s strategic importance to Washington.
Strategic Implications For India’s Engagement
The statement serves as a diplomatic assurance to New Delhi amid regional realignments. India’s government has long viewed its partnership with the U.S. as central to its foreign-policy calculus and will likely monitor how the U.S. balances its ties with both Islamabad and New Delhi moving forward. Rubio’s use of “not at India’s expense” appears deliberately crafted to ease potential Indian apprehensions.
