The United States and Pakistan: Navigating a Complex Relationship

{
  "authors": [
    "Husain Haqqani"
  ],
  "type": "testimony",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "Pakistan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy",
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ]
}

Testimony

The United States and Pakistan: Navigating a Complex Relationship

Testimony by Husain Haqqani before the the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

By Mr. Husain Haqqani

Published on Jun 30, 2005

On June 30, 2005, Husain Haqqani, Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Associate Professor of International Relations, Boston University testified before the the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom at a hearing on "The United States and Pakistan: Navigating a Complex Relationship."

I would like to begin by thanking the members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom for the privilege of testifying before you on the situation in Pakistan and U.S. relations with this extremely important country.

Pakistan and the United States have been allies since the 1950s but their relations have been far from tension free. When it emerged as an independent state in 1947, Pakistan was considered a moderate Muslim nation that could serve as a model for other emerging independent Muslim states. Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was a Shia Muslim. Its first law minister was a Hindu. Its foreign minister belonged to the Ahmadiyya religious community. Although Pakistan’s birth was accompanied by religious riots and communal violence, the country’s founders clearly intended to create a non-sectarian state that would protect religious freedoms and provide the Muslims of South Asia an opportunity to live in a country where the constituted a majority. Continued >>

Click on the link to the right for the full text of this testimony.

About the Author

Mr. Husain Haqqani

Former Visiting Scholar

Recent Work

Report
India and Pakistan: Is Peace Real This Time?: A Conversation between Husain Haqqani and Ashley J. Tellis
- Mr. Husain Haqqani, Ashley J. Tellis
Other
America's New Alliance with Pakistan: Avoiding the Traps of the Past
- Mr. Husain Haqqani

Political Reform Democracy Security Foreign Policy Nuclear Policy South Asia Pakistan

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie India

Commentary
The Impact of U.S. Sanctions and Tariffs on India’s Russian Oil Imports
This piece examines India’s response to U.S. sanctions and tariffs, specifically assessing the immediate market consequences, such as alterations in import costs, and the broader strategic implications for India’s energy security and foreign policy orientation.
Vrinda Sahai
Article
Military Lessons from Operation Sindoor
The India-Pakistan conflict that played out between May 6 and May 10, 2025, offers several military lessons. This article presents key takeaways from Operation Sindoor and breaks down how India’s preparations shaped the outcome and what more is needed to strengthen future readiness.
Dinakar Peri
Book
India and the Sovereignty Principle: The Disaggregation Imperative
This book offers a comprehensive analysis of India's evolving relationship with sovereignty in a complex global order. Moving beyond conventional narratives, it examines how the sovereignty principle shapes India's behavior across four critical domains—from traditional military power to contemporary data governance.
Rudra Chaudhuri, Nabarun Roy
Commentary
NISAR Soars While India-U.S. Tariff Tensions Simmer
On July 30, 2025, the United States announced 25 percent tariffs on Indian goods. While diplomatic tensions simmered on the trade front, a cosmic calm prevailed at the Sriharikota launch range. Officials from NASA and ISRO were preparing to launch an engineering marvel into space—the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), marking a significant milestone in the India-U.S. bilateral partnership.
Tejas Bharadwaj
Article
Hidden Tides: IUU Fishing and Regional Security Dynamics for India
This article examines the scale and impact of Chinese IUU fishing operations globally and identifies the nature of the challenge posed by IUU fishing in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It also investigates why existing maritime law and international frameworks have struggled to address this growing threat.
Ajay Kumar, Charukeshi Bhatt

More Work from Carnegie India

Commentary

The Impact of U.S. Sanctions and Tariffs on India’s Russian Oil Imports

This piece examines India’s response to U.S. sanctions and tariffs, specifically assessing the immediate market consequences, such as alterations in import costs, and the broader strategic implications for India’s energy security and foreign policy orientation.

Vrinda Sahai

Article

Military Lessons from Operation Sindoor

The India-Pakistan conflict that played out between May 6 and May 10, 2025, offers several military lessons. This article presents key takeaways from Operation Sindoor and breaks down how India’s preparations shaped the outcome and what more is needed to strengthen future readiness.

Dinakar Peri

Book

India and the Sovereignty Principle: The Disaggregation Imperative

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of India's evolving relationship with sovereignty in a complex global order. Moving beyond conventional narratives, it examines how the sovereignty principle shapes India's behavior across four critical domains—from traditional military power to contemporary data governance.

Rudra Chaudhuri, Nabarun Roy

Commentary

NISAR Soars While India-U.S. Tariff Tensions Simmer

On July 30, 2025, the United States announced 25 percent tariffs on Indian goods. While diplomatic tensions simmered on the trade front, a cosmic calm prevailed at the Sriharikota launch range. Officials from NASA and ISRO were preparing to launch an engineering marvel into space—the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), marking a significant milestone in the India-U.S. bilateral partnership.

Tejas Bharadwaj

Article

Hidden Tides: IUU Fishing and Regional Security Dynamics for India

This article examines the scale and impact of Chinese IUU fishing operations globally and identifies the nature of the challenge posed by IUU fishing in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It also investigates why existing maritime law and international frameworks have struggled to address this growing threat.

Ajay Kumar, Charukeshi Bhatt