US backs Pakistan, China arms it — why India must rethink its strategy
Indrani Bagchi
ET Bureau
Jun 27, 2025, 17:49 IST IST
Stars aligned for Pakistan, US and China should be a matter of concern for India. If India wants to handle China, a weakened Pakistan is in its interest. This is what it needs to do
Donald Trump finally got his ceasefire, and a shot at the Peace Nobel. He even publicly toyed with the idea of regime change in Iran in the run-up to the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. Thankfully, unlike in the India-Pakistan context, he did bang heads together, cussed, and brought calm to the skies.
Trump should actually claim credit for executing a silent and smooth regime change — in Pakistan. With an intimate lunch meeting between him and Asim Munir on June 18, the US president effectively blessed Pakistan with a military leadership, completely undermining its elected civilian government. The message rang through clearly: Rawalpindi has the support of Washington, and Pakistan's political stakeholders in Islamabad should fall in line.
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