US-Pak ties may limit India's response to terror attack: Kenneth Juster

Former US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster on Thursday suggested that Pakistan's improving ties with the United States could have implications for India's strategic decision-making in the event of a future major terrorist attack originating from across the border.

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Pakistan's US Ties and India's Strategic Calculus

Speaking at the Hudson Institute's The New India Conference, Juster pointed to what he described as Pakistan's "successful courting" of the US administration, noting that this development has come as a surprise to many observers and is seen as an irritant in New Delhi.

Calling the shift "an irritant to India", Juster added that it may also have practical consequences for New Delhi's strategic calculations. "On Pakistan's successful courting of the Trump administration, which now extends to being an intermediary in the US-Iran talks. Obviously, on multiple levels and for many reasons, this is an irritant to India and a surprise to many of us. And I don't need to enumerate all the reasons for that," the ex-envoy said.

According to him, the growing US-Pakistan ties "may also have a practical impact on India", particularly in how it responds to future cross-border terrorism incidents.

Recalling his tenure during past escalations, including the Pulwama and Balakot episodes, Juster said India's response calculus could be affected by uncertainty over Washington's position on Islamabad. He noted that India "may have doubts as to whether the United States will support a muscular response" to terrorist groups operating from Pakistani territory.

"But it may also have a practical impact on India. Pakistan's warmer relations with the United States may cause India to limit its response to the next significant cross-border terrorist incident. At the very least, unlike other previous incidents, and I was ambassador when we had the Pulwama and Balakot incidents, India may have doubts as to whether the United States will support a muscular response to Pakistani-based terrorist groups," Juster added.

Importance of US-India Partnership

However, the former US Ambassador also emphasised the broader importance of the US-India relationship, calling for both sides to strengthen ties in a mutually beneficial direction.

Highlighting India's global significance, he said the country's "large population, market size, technological talent, and growing military" make its rise one of the defining geopolitical developments of the century.

"As someone involved in US-India relations in both the public and private sectors over the last 26 years, I hope that we get our bilateral relationship fully back on track with each side taking the necessary steps to truly make it a mutually beneficial partnership. Given India's large population, its market size, its technological talent, and its growing military, its rise will be one of the most significant geopolitical stories of this century," the former envoy said.

He further noted that it remains in the interest of both Washington and New Delhi for the United States to play a constructive role in India's growth story. "It's in the interests of both the United States and India for America to be a positive part of that story," he added.

(ANI)