On a low-key but politically important visit, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House on September 25. The meeting — which lasted more than 90 minutes — follows increasing U.S.–Pakistan rapprochement and is very close on the heels of Pakistan signing a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia.
For India, the meeting marks a more profound strategic realignment in South Asia, with potential implications for regional security, economics, and power projection.
Meeting Highlights and Strategic Optics
While the session was closed to journalists, reports indicate both discussed topics ranging from security, collaboration, economic opportunities and counter terrorism. Pakistan extended an invitation to U.S. investment into areas like agriculture, energy, mining, and technology, with Washington showing particular interest in Pakistan’s rare earth minerals and oil drilling.
The optics of this summit are noteworthy:
• A deepened U.S.–Pakistan security relationship:
The meeting is followed just days after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed mutual defense treaty, the White House talks reflect an emerging convergence of strategic interests between Washington and Islamabad. This could be extended to military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and potential logistical arrangements.
• Geostrategic significance of Pakistan: Experts mention that Pakistan’s geographical proximity to China and Iran positions the country as a fulcrum partner for Washington. For New Delhi, this sounds warning bells about the changing dynamics of power in south Asia and the wider Indo Pacific.
• Military to military outreach: Trump’s interaction with COAS Munir reflects Washington’s inclination to deal with Pakistan’s military establishment in a close manner, avoiding part of the classic civilian diplomatic process. This suggests pragmatism based on strategic imperatives and not political alignment.
India’s Strategic Calculus
This meeting signifies more than a diplomatic ritual. It marks the changing outlines of U.S. foreign policy under Trump, in which military supply and strategic placement increasingly dictate alliances. Pakistan’s bridgehead role to West Asia, Central Asia, and China lends heft to this shift — and intensifies India’s strategic challenges.
New Delhi will most probably see the Saudi–Pakistan defence agreement and Washington’s overtures to Islamabad as a triangulated change of regional alignments, one that is likely to affect:
India’s access and role in Afghanistan.
Regional counterterrorism equilibria.
Strategic balances in West Asia and the Indo Pacific.
https://www.indiandefensenews.in/2025/09/us-getting-closer-to-pakistan-for.html
The Bigger Picture
This meeting occurs against the backdrop of a more militarised approach in U.S. foreign policy, a context of escalating U.S.–China rivalry, and shifting Pakistan–Saudi security partnership. For India, the US–Pakistan rapprochement is an emerging reality that will necessitate careful monitoring and strategic adjustment.
In a part of the world where alignments are changing rapidly, will India retaliate with strategic outreach to counter the emerging US–Pakistan axis — or will the emerging partnership change South Asia’s geopolitical landscape?
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