{"id":126728,"date":"2026-05-31T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=126728"},"modified":"2026-05-31T09:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:49:41","slug":"us-pakistan-developing-true-friendship-hegseth-hails-islamabads-role-in-us-iran-negotiations-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126728\/","title":{"rendered":"‘US, Pakistan developing true friendship’: Hegseth hails Islamabad’s role in US-Iran negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON(National Times)- United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Saturday said Washington and Islamabad were developing a \u201ctrue friendship\u201d as he lauded Pakistan\u2019s role in the ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Pakistan acting as the official interlocutor between Washington and Tehran in the ongoing peace negotiations that resulted in the April 8 US-Iran ceasefire<\/a>, Trump and his top officials have hailed Islamabad\u2019s role several times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth was asked about former director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s remarks<\/a> on Pakistan\u2019s future missile capabilities potentially<\/a> posing a threat to the US, and whether India\u2019s Agni-VI missile programme posed a similar threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question was posed after Hegseth, in his speech<\/a>, had lauded US defence cooperation with Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian countries, as well as India, which he termed a \u201ccritical anchor to hold the line\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mentioned India here, but I very easily could have mentioned Pakistan and the role that the field marshal and the prime minister are playing in peace negotiations,\u201d Hegseth replied, praising PM Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think an unexpected development and a true friendship [is] developing there, which I think is important,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting that both India and Pakistan were nuclear-capable countries, Hegseth said, \u201cI think both sides are going to see understandable threats coming from the other, maybe some of which we see differently, and countries are going to want to develop ICBM threats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he added, \u201cBut we\u2019re not pointing fingers, at least from our view, right now, at either country and calling them a threat to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense secretary further said that the US was \u201cgrateful for, in each of their lanes, the benefits they\u2019ve given to peace around the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth also reiterated Washington and Islamabad\u2019s stance<\/a> that President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Pakistan and India during the May 2025 conflict \u2014 a narrative that India\u2019s PM Narendra Modi has denied<\/a>, irking Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US president has lauded<\/a> PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir on multiple occasions, calling<\/a> the prime minister \u201cgreat\u201d and the military chief \u201cfantastic\u201d last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, at the inaugural meeting<\/a> of the US-led Board of Peace, Trump had praised Shehbaz and described the field marshal as a \u201ctough man\u201d and a \u201cserious fighter\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US president has even referred to the army chief as \u201cmy favourite field marshal<\/u><\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said<\/u><\/a> the US saw an opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan and that the recent strengthening<\/a> of ties between the two countries did not come at the expense of Washington\u2019s relationship with New Delhi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON(National Times)- United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Saturday said Washington and Islamabad were developing a \u201ctrue friendship\u201d as he lauded Pakistan\u2019s role in the ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations. With Pakistan acting as the official interlocutor between Washington and Tehran in the ongoing peace negotiations that resulted in the April 8 US-Iran ceasefire, Trump […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n'US, Pakistan developing true friendship': Hegseth hails Islamabad's role in US-Iran negotiations - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126728\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'US, Pakistan developing true friendship': Hegseth hails Islamabad's role in US-Iran negotiations - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON(National Times)- United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Saturday said Washington and Islamabad were developing a \u201ctrue friendship\u201d as he lauded Pakistan\u2019s role in the ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations. 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