Why India Feels Betrayed by US-Pakistan Engagement
Stuck in the Middle. Is America's South Asia Partnership a Gamble?
"There's a saying in diplomacy: Timing is Everything. Don't expect applause when you shake hands with a suspect while your ally is still burying his dead."
That's what the whispers are saying in New Delhi at the present time. America welcomes top military chiefs from Pakistan this week, and India is left with a funeral, a betrayal, and a feeling of deja vu.
It's 2025—and terrorism remains the currency of choice internationally and partnerships are made out of convenience instead of ideology.
📜 A Historical Hangover: Cold War to Counterterror
To understand the crisis of today, let's look back.
During the onset of the Cold War, Pakistan was cast as America's "frontline state" in its battle against communism. It participated in SEATO and CENTO; it received military support; it provided access during the Soviet-Afghanistan War. For decades, Islamabad played the role of Washington's first partner in South Asia.
India was non-aligned, susceptible to anti-American rhetoric from the Soviet bloc and oftentimes, controversial with US policies. The 1971 Indo-Pak war, during which the US supported Pakistan and India supported the Soviets, solidified this rift. Even in the 1990s when India liberalized its economy, the desire for a deeper relationship took years to cultivate, come with a heavy price.
But then, over the first two decades of the 2000s, everything changed. The 2005 U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement made defense intentions clear. By 2020, India was indispensable to Washington at least in respect to technology and munitions manufacturing to Indo-Pacific containment endeavors regarding China.
But still, the ghosts of Washington's past with a Pakistani partnership always loomed.
⚠️ 2025: The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back
The most recent incident occurred on April 22, 2025 with a massive bombing in Pahalgam, India, killing twenty-six civilians, mostly Hindu pilgrims and local shepherds. Almost immediately, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was blamed. Once again, the terrorists were operating from within Pakistan. Their tell-tale signs were obvious—disseminated communications, well-thought out tactics, and even the propaganda that followed the attack were linked to the usual culprits and puppeteers.
On May 6, India retaliated in kind with Operation Sindoor, aiming for terror resources across the Line of Control. On May 9, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos, and for five days, missiles, drones, and artillery were exchanged across international borders. Civilians and soldiers alike were killed. The subcontinent teetered on the brink of disaster.
Only on May 10 did President Trump announce a ceasefire via social media, preceding official government releases in both nations. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were known to broker this behind-the-scenes communication. Yet what was perceived as a good intention and reception for a ceasefire became questioned shortly thereafter when India felt slighted by Trump's congratulatory tone—and when Pakistan nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Is peace celebrated while justice is buried?,” questioned an Indian reporter on NDTV.
🧨 Pakistan's Terror Nexus: Changed, not Erased
To the global eye, Pakistan is compliant. It convicted LeT's godfathers Sajid Mir in 2022. It extradited players involved with the 2021 Kabul airport bombing. It allowed U.S. drone strikes against ISIS-K at the Afghan border.
What is missing from the reports, however, is a dominant terror nexus that operates to this day—and in many cases, foreign countries turn a blind eye because of support from Pakistan's military-intelligence complex.
Even Pakistan's Defense Minister Khwaja Asif admitted to the world that for over three decades, Pakistan engaged in terrorism as a state-sponsored means—but it was all a Cold War chess game gone south.
Did this confession deter the U.S. from using its leverage of friendship? No, because on June 19, 2025, Pakistan's military leaders were welcomed to the White House for meetings, and [General Bajwa] received honorary medals.
For India, this is a public relations problem—its citizens still mourning over its civilian casualties see those purported to be supporters of terrorists being empowered at Capitol Hill.
🌏 The U.S. Response Is Logic—Or Illogical
To be honest, Washington's response does not come from emotional investment—it comes from political solace.
There's a concern for China. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) runs through a disputed Kashmir; the U.S. sees Pakistan as a forward operating base in an area that grants Beijing too much access daily. Furthermore, Islamabad is a critical player in regional counterterrorism concerning ISIS-K and the Taliban.
So to Washington, Pakistan “close” is a welcome notion. But the better question is at what cost?
After all, India is not only America's partner in the fight against China, but also a major player in clean tech, defense, digital infrastructure, and democratic governance. If Washington is seen as appeasing Pakistan it fractures its most important long-term relationship in Asia.
INDIA'S PERSPECTIVE: SCARS REOPENED
India knows a thing or two about terrorism. Mumbai 2008. Pulwama 2019—the pains are multigenerational. Each time the attacks can be linked to Pakistan, and each time the international community turns a blind eye, the pain worsens.
In 2025, that pain reopens fresh.
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar states:
“There can be no moral equivalence between those who suffer terrorism and those who sponsor it.”
Thus in the Indian press it's deemed an “insult”, “a diplomatic betrayal”, “a strategic blunder disguised as peacekeeping.”
Even the moderates lose trust in U.S. neutrality.
🧠 THE MENTAL HEALTH RAMIFICATIONS: PAIN WITHOUT RESOLUTION
Whereas diplomats confine their conversations to strategic talk, everyday people are managing trauma. In Kashmir. In Punjab. In every diasporic community from New York to London—vigils are held, fears are reestablished. It's reported to therapists who see spikes in anxiety-diagnoses.
Mindful gurus, yoga instructors, and spiritual guides are holding daily online sessions reminding everyone to do “Breathwork in Times of War.” One poem that circulated goes:
“When geopolitics forgets humanity, we must remember to breathe for the world.”
🎯 What Should America Do Next?
What America has to lose if this continues:
Indo-Pacific reputation damage.
Trust with India as it is a partner that is much more aligned in long-term values and visions will be lost.
Empowerment of Pakistan's military elite, some of whom are linked to the terror plots that India has faced.
America does not have to choose between India and Pakistan in such a black-and-white manner. But it needs to acknowledge that the optics of condemning the globe's largest democracy are troublesome unless it has an equally publicized response to the terror dossiers against Pakistan.
America needs to readjust. It needs to:
Publicly acknowledge support for India and its terror concerns as easily as it allegedly did behind closed doors.
Publicly condition any future ventures with Pakistan based on counterterrorism success going forward as long as it can verify.
Support Indian security in any way feasible, public drills, intelligence sharing, public support announcements of strategy.
Engage in humanitarianism — acknowledging that there are human costs associated with terrorism everywhere and creating programs that encourage peace, education, and economic improvement next door.
Final Thought: Diplomacy Should Have an Ethical Component
Only time will tell if the U.S. retained its ethics or sacrificed its ethical component for short-term, opportunistic benefits.
Everything the United States needs to return to a position of ethical leadership is already at its fingertips. It just needs to live up to its expectations—the expectations due to*** bloodshed and fragile peace***.
India has been a proponent of a partnership based on integrity, trust, and give and take. It will be monitoring the situation in the weeks and months to come—because for New Delhi, this is more than beneficial, strategic alignment.
It's an matter of life and death. 🔗 References📰 News Reports and Government Statements
“Thawing of relations between Pakistan and US raises eyebrows in India.”
The Guardian (June 22, 2025)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/22/us-pakistan-relations-india-response“2025 India–Pakistan conflict: Timeline and ceasefire details.”
Reuters/AP News Syndicate Compilation (May–June 2025)
https://www.reuters.com/world/india-pakistan-conflict-2025-ceasefire-trump“Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize after ceasefire success.”
POLITICO – Foreign Affairs Desk (May 12, 2025)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/12/trump-nobel-peace-pakistan-001“India's Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's response: What we know.”
BBC World Service (May 2025)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-pakistan-operation-sindoor“Pakistan admits to supporting terrorism in past: Minister Khwaja Asif.”
Al Jazeera (April 2025)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/16/pakistan-terror-khwaja-asif-confession
📄 Official and Analytical Sources
U.S. State Department: Country Reports on Terrorism 2022–2023 – Pakistan Chapter
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Counterterrorism
https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2023/pakistan“Amid India-Pakistan tensions, the US must rebalance its security priorities.”
Atlantic Council (June 2025)
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/southasia-source/us-india-pakistan-strategy-2025“Kashmir crisis: What is Lashkar-e-Taiba and is it supported by Pakistan?”
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Backgrounder
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/lashkar-e-taiba-terrorism-pakistan-kashmir“India-Pakistan Relations in 2025: Strategic and Diplomatic Outlook.”
Brookings India (April 2025)
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/india-pakistan-relations-2025-diplomatic-outlook📚 Historical Context
“U.S.–Pakistan Relations: A Timeline.”
U.S. Institute of Peace
https://www.usip.org/us-pakistan-relations-timeline“India and the United States: The Emerging Strategic Partnership.”
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
https://carnegieendowment.org/2005/07/18/india-us-nuclear-deal(The image is created by an AI tool)
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