{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreibgjgp5jpjp3q47dzhrxmp4tqb4zmss6ba2sy6u56gx2ds77viure",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:neqfhinxgjyy6qagpbcb6wfe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn45fjhk4xw2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreid67ynjnuicusmozm6gtxp5gq6z55sfchst6arbdlqdisfposonae"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/png",
    "size": 190471
  },
  "path": "/partner/hegseth-hails-pakistan-s-true-friendship-with-us-praises-role-in-iran-peace-talks",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-30T14:05:41.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nU.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that Washington and Islamabad were developing a \"true friendship,\" praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for their role in the U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.\n\nHegseth made the remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where he had just lauded U.S. defense cooperation with India.\n\n### What did Hegseth say about Pakistan at the Shangri-La Dialogue?\n\nSpeaking at the three-day security forum in Singapore, Hegseth said Pakistan's leaders deserved the same recognition he had given India.\n\n\"I 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,\" he said.\n\n\"I think an unexpected development and a true friendship is developing there, which I think is important,\" he added. Pakistan has served as the official interlocutor between Washington and Tehran in the negotiations that resulted in the April 8 ceasefire.\n\n### How did Hegseth address India-Pakistan nuclear tensions?\n\nHegseth acknowledged that both India and Pakistan were nuclear-capable countries and that each side would perceive threats from the other.\n\n\"I 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,\" he said.\n\nHe was responding to a question about former director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's previous remarks about Pakistan's missile capabilities potentially posing a threat to the U.S., and whether India's Agni-VI missile program posed a similar concern. \"But we're not pointing fingers, at least from our view, right now, at either country and calling them a threat to us,\" Hegseth said.\n\n### How has US praise for Pakistan's leadership evolved?\n\nTrump and his top officials have hailed Pakistan's mediation role on multiple occasions. Trump has called PM Shehbaz \"great\" and Field Marshal Munir \"fantastic,\" and has referred to the army chief as \"my favourite field marshal.\"\n\nIn February, at the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-led Board of Peace, Trump praised Shehbaz and described Munir as a \"tough man\" and a \"serious fighter.\"\n\nHegseth also reiterated the U.S. and Pakistani narrative that Trump brokered a ceasefire between Pakistan and India during the May 2025 conflict, a claim Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied.\n\n### What is the broader context of the US-Pakistan relationship?\n\nIn November 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. saw an opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan and that the strengthening of ties did not come at the expense of Washington's relationship with New Delhi.\n\nHegseth described both countries as giving \"benefits to peace around the world\" in their respective roles. The U.S. has historically been closer to India in recent years, making Pakistan's re-emergence as a key American partner one of the more significant diplomatic shifts of the Trump era.",
  "title": "Hegseth hails Pakistan's 'true friendship' with US, praises role in Iran peace talks"
}