Pakistan strengthens its strategic ties with the US as India licks its wounds from the war. Pakistan’s role and eventual upper hand in the May 2025 military engagements with India redefined its position in the emerging international arena. Pakistan positioned itself as a responsible state, showing restraint and a de-escalatory posture in the conflict. It has changed the US’ conception of Pakistan. This conception is now marked by the strategic realignment of the US and its growing partnership with Pakistan in the fields of trade, investments, and military and intelligence cooperation.

During the India-Pakistan conflict, Pakistan portrayed the role of a responsible actor in the international system. Pakistan engaged with the international actor prior to the conflict to prevent conflict with India. It even offered neutral investigations on Indian accusations levelled against Pakistan. Pakistan again involved the US as an arbitrator in its conflict with India. It agreed on a ceasefire mediated by the US President. This made Pakistan a serious player for the US to engage in South Asia to maintain stability in the region. This boosted the US interests in having long-term relations with Pakistan.

Strong and consistent leadership is another reason for increasing US engagement with Pakistan. Pakistan has suffered from a lack of a consistent policy towards the US in the past. Its policy shifted as it saw successive political administrations. This has changed with the current government having the full support of all the institutions. Enduring policies in matters of economic and national security, with the backing of strong leaders from institutions of state, also push the US to form a strategic and long-lasting policy for Pakistan.

Trump sees himself as a strong leader, having the ability to control events and foster peace in the world by ending conflicts. Pakistan engaged Trump in the peace process, which was followed by his meeting with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. These engagements are in line with Trump’s personality. His perception of Pakistan has shifted from limited engagement during his first term to direct engagement with a strong man from Pakistan. This also shifted the attitude of the US towards Pakistan, as it is dictated by the authority of the President in the US.

The US under President Trump is seeing a strategic shift in its relations with other countries. Mutual trade is one such area where the Trump administration is pursuing most of the reforms. It renegotiated its trade deals with the whole world, including allies. Pakistan was no different in this regard, but contrary to India, Pakistan reached a better and quicker deal with the US. Both countries agreed on 19% on trade and tariffs.. This was coupled with the Pakistani decision to buy crude oil from American companies. This also led to growing US interests in Pakistan.

Trump, in his second term has also shifted the focus of national and strategic reserves to new arenas. It declared rare earth minerals as an important component of national security. The US has made a deal with Ukraine under the new administration to secure such minerals in exchange for military support. Pakistan also have substantial reserves of such rare earth minerals. It recently held a conference to promote investment in this sector. US companies, under the vision of the Trump administration, showed great interest in securing deals with Pakistan. This also points towards growing US interests in Pakistan.

AI and cryptocurrencies are another area that the new administration views as important to American power. The Trump family itself is involved in the crypto and AI data centres business. The Pakistani government has also started working on the crypto and AI sectors to solidify the nation’s future. Pakistan made a Pakistan Crypto Council to promote this sector and appointed a special assistant to the PM on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency as head of the council. He attended a conference in Las Vegas aimed at promoting such investments by pitching government initiatives to facilitate them. The conference was also attended by members of the Trump family and US Vice President JD Vance, thus pointing to growing US interests in Pakistan.

Strategic presence in the South Asia region is another reason for increasing US engagement in the region. After the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US has lost a direct role in the region. It was also losing grip on its Pakistani relations due to its prioritisation of India in containing China. It wanted to reassert its role in the region as conflict with Iran escalated, along with growing concern about the rise of ISKP in Afghanistan as a new threat. It also wanted to hedge India away from Russian influence. This also made increased engagement with Pakistan a beneficial matter for the US.

Pakistan, as a strategic partner, is vital for the US to secure its regional and global interests. Its role as a responsible state secures its pivotal role for the stability of the region. Pakistan is also important for the US engagement with Iran, as the two countries don’t have formal relations. It is also important to contain ISKP in Afghanistan. Pakistan also provided the US with lucrative trade deals, including buying American oil. Pakistan’s discovery of rare earth minerals and its increasing focus on Cryptocurrency have sparked growing US interests in the country. All of these factors act in congruence with each other to make Pakistan an epitome of US interests in recent times.