By Sumayya
ISLAMABAD — United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington must keep a relationship with Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons, even though they have some policy disagreements. He explained that talking with Islamabad could help solve security problems in the region.
The US has had security and diplomatic connections with both Pakistan and India for a long time. Relations between India and Pakistan are tense, mostly because of the argued Himalayan area of Kashmir and claims that each country supports fighters on the other’s land. In 2025, when Rubio was a senator, he promised to make a law to stop US security help to Pakistan if it supported fighters against India.
The US secretary of state is visiting India right now for talks to make the partnership between Washington and New Delhi stronger. They are expected to talk about defense, trade, technology, and regional security. The United States wants to grow closer to India while also handling its relationships with other South Asian countries.
“In the case of Pakistan, it’s a country that we have to have a relationship with. It’s a country that possesses nuclear weapons. It’s a country that, from a geographic standpoint, we need to be able to interact with them in much the same way as the government of India has to have and has a relationship and meets with leaders from Iran,” Rubio said during an interview with India’s News 18 TV network.
“I think in a way it could be a positive thing, because if we have a relationship and we can speak to them, it could perhaps help us help discourage the kinds of things that India is worried about.”
India says Pakistan helps fighters in the area of Kashmir that India controls. Meanwhile, Islamabad blames New Delhi for supporting fighting groups that launch attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces near the border with Afghanistan. Both countries say the other side is lying.
Last year, the two neighbors with nuclear weapons fought a short but fierce military battle. This fight started after a militant attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. During the conflict, the neighbors attacked each other using fighter jets, missiles, drones, and artillery. They finally agreed to a ceasefire. President Donald Trump said this ceasefire happened because the US stepped in to help, but India said that was not true.
Rubio said that even though he spoke about this problem before when he was a US senator, his job now as secretary of state means he must balance the bigger goals of US foreign policy.
“We’re against terrorism anywhere in the world. We’re against anybody who sponsors terrorism,” he said.
“In my new role, I’m no longer a senator, I’m the secretary of state. I have to manage the foreign policy of the United States, and that does require us to have relationships with countries, including those that we may have some disagreements with.”
