MUMBAI — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Pakistan is “a country that we have to have a relationship with,” pointing to its nuclear weapons and its geography, according to a State Department transcript of a television interview he gave in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Rubio made the remarks during his visit to India, in answer to a question on whether his earlier stance on cutting US security aid to Pakistan had changed. In reply, he set out why Washington needs to stay engaged with Islamabad.
Rubio said Pakistan is a country that possesses nuclear weapons and that, from a geographic standpoint, the United States needs to be able to interact with it. He compared the relationship to India’s own ties with Iran, saying New Delhi also maintains relations with Tehran and meets its leaders.
He acknowledged that such relationships are difficult to balance but said they are part of US foreign policy. Engagement, he added, could put Washington in a position to help discourage the kinds of things India is worried about. “We’re against anybody who sponsors terrorism,” Rubio said.
A visit that skips the capital
Rubio’s India itinerary takes in Mumbai and Jamnagar but skips New Delhi, the first time a US secretary of state has planned an India trip with no meetings in the capital, The Wire reported. No meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been announced.
Pakistan’s growing diplomatic weight
The remarks come as Pakistan plays a central role in diplomacy around the war involving Iran. Pakistan mediated talks between Iran and the United States in April, and on Tuesday Field Marshal Asim Munir, accompanied by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, met President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei in Tehran, PTI reported, citing Iranian state media.
In May, Rubio said India had raised no objections to Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the Iran conflict, The Wire reported.
Islamabad has also widened its security partnerships. In August, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, and Pakistan, Türkiye, Qatar and Indonesia are expected to sign a memorandum on defence industry cooperation in Doha on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported.
Rubio has previously described Washington’s outreach to Islamabad as an opportunity. In October 2025, he said the United States saw a chance to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan, and that this did not come at the expense of its ties with India.∎
