A top US State Department official made it clear on Wednesday that America handles its ties with India and Pakistan as two totally separate deals. The relationships look “quite different,” the official told reporters, pushing back against fears that the US might start linking the two countries again—a worry some call “re-hyphenation.”
When it comes to the Kashmir issue, the US sticks to its long-held stance: it’s a matter for India and Pakistan to sort out directly. President Donald Trump stands ready to step in if asked, but the official stressed, “We have no interest in it, and he has enough crises on his hands already.” Bottom line? “We’ll leave that up to India and Pakistan to solve.”
The official explained that the US views India and Pakistan on their own terms, guided by an “America First” approach that boosts US interests. “They’re quite different relationships,” the source added.
This comes amid concerns in India over possible re-hyphenation in US India relations and US Pakistan relations. That’s sparked by Trump’s repeated claims that he helped end a conflict between the neighbors in May and even reset ties with Islamabad. India has firmly denied any US mediation, insisting the two countries resolved the issue themselves.
But the official stood by Trump’s version, brushing off New Delhi’s denial. “The Indian government has a domestic constituency they have to speak to,” the source said. Still, “it’s a fact that the United States was involved in that crisis.”
The briefer spoke anonymously as a senior State Department official to freely address key diplomatic challenges in the region, especially with some “turbulence” in US-India ties right now.
On Pakistan’s close links with China, the official voiced ongoing worries. “It obviously continues to be a concern of ours,” they said. That said, the focus stays on building the US-Pakistan relationship independently. “We’re trying to look at Pakistan through the lens of that bilateral tie and figure out where we can work together,” the official noted.
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