US Experts Warn Trump Administration: Preserve Ties with India, Don’t Let Pakistan Come in Between

Washington: Geopolitical experts in the United States have advised the Trump administration to take urgent steps to preserve its relationship with India, warning that attempts to deepen ties with Pakistan have already caused significant strain.

Richard Fontaine and Lisa Curtis, both former officials in the George W. Bush administration, highlighted in an article in Foreign Affairs that when Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, US-India relations were stronger than many could have anticipated. However, they note, missteps by the Trump administration have pushed the partnership to the brink. “It will take years of sustained effort to restore the trust and cooperation that once defined the US-India relationship,” they wrote.

The experts cite several incidents that contributed to the deterioration. During India’s Operation Sindur, Trump reportedly attempted to claim credit, which angered New Delhi. Pakistan leveraged this friction, even nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, but India refused to acknowledge any US mediation efforts. Further tensions arose when Trump invited Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Syed Asim Munir, to the Oval Office, refused to sign a trade agreement with India, and imposed higher tariffs on Indian exports.

Fontaine and Curtis also pointed to Trump’s public remarks in August of last year, when he labeled India as a “dead economy.” In response, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China — his first visit there in seven years — which reportedly led Trump to feel that the United States had “lost India.”

Despite these challenges, the experts note that bilateral ties are not entirely broken. “Although leaders may be at odds publicly, both governments continue to collaborate behind the scenes,” they wrote. Yet, they stressed, urgent action is needed. The Trump administration should reduce tariffs on Indian goods, retract claims of mediating between India and Pakistan, and refrain from offering to arbitrate the decades-old Kashmir dispute.

While these measures may be difficult for Trump, given his focus on reducing the US trade deficit and ambitions for the Nobel Prize, the experts argue they are crucial. India remains a global swing state with considerable influence on international affairs. New Delhi understands US concerns regarding China and is committed to strengthening Indo-Pacific democracies in partnership with Washington. Fontaine and Curtis conclude, “If the US loses this relationship, Washington will face a significant strategic deficit.”