United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington’s deepening relationship with Pakistan could give the United States greater influence over the decisions taken in Islamabad, while insisting at the same time that the partnership will not come at India’s expense.
Rubio made the remarks in a joint interview with India Today, recorded on October 22 at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai alongside the United States Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor. The United States State Department has published the full transcript of the conversation, and a short clip of the influence remark has since been circulating widely on social media.
He was asked how Washington would reassure New Delhi that its closer ties with Islamabad would not weaken India’s fight against terrorism. Rubio replied that the American relationship with Pakistan was not new, but had developed in a way that could now carry more weight. “I think it allows us to have, hopefully, more influence over the decisions they make on a variety of topics,” he said, adding that the United States needs working relations with as many countries as possible because of its global presence and interests. “In no way does the relationship with Pakistan come at the expense of our relationship with India,” he added.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Rubio stressed that India and the United States share the same concerns about terrorism, and pointed to America’s own record in confronting the threat, including its campaigns against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda and the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. The setting carried its own weight: the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was one of the sites targeted during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 160 people, including six Americans.
He also spoke about Washington’s role during last year’s India-Pakistan tensions, saying the United States had used its long-standing ties with India and a relationship with Pakistan that has improved over the last few years to stop the situation from turning into a wider conflict. “We’d prefer not to see war,” he said, adding that Washington would rather see both countries partner in business and commerce.
The comments come as engagement between Islamabad and Washington has grown this year, including talks on United States investment in Pakistan’s artificial intelligence sector.
Taken together, Rubio’s remarks set out the balancing act at the heart of American policy in South Asia: keeping enough closeness with Islamabad to shape its choices, while reassuring New Delhi that the partnership is not directed against it. Whether that influence translates into concrete cooperation on terrorism and regional stability remains the real test, but for now Washington’s message is clear: engagement, not distance, is the tool it intends to use.
