A true friendship developing between Washington & Islamabad: Hegseth

WASHINGTON: United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday said a true friendship was developing between Washington and Islamabad, crediting Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for their role as peace negotiators.

Both the Army Chief and the Prime Minister have been at the forefront of diplomatic efforts aimed at facilitating landmark talks between Iran and the US after the conflict broke out in February. Their roles have been widely praised by the international community including US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly referred to Munir as his “favorite field marshal.”

Hegseth made the remarks at the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore while responding to a question on India’s long-range missile capability which could put parts of Europe and the US within reach.

“The final question was about India-Pakistan, and 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.

“I think an unexpected development and a true friendship developing there, which I think is important,” Hegseth continued. “And you saw that in the ability of the president to come together on brokering a peace between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-capable countries.”

Both Asim Munir and Shehbaz Sharif built a rapport with Trump during US efforts to defuse a brief but intense conflict between Pakistan and India last year, which involved exchanges of drone, missile and artillery strikes between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Pakistan hailed Trump’s role following the conflict, with Sharif nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, while India dismissed US involvement in resolving the standoff.

Pakistani leaders’ ties with Trump deepened after the US-Israeli war on Iran in February. Pakistan played a leading mediating role between Washington and Tehran by hosting the first round of peace talks. Munir also visited Tehran to help ease Middle East tensions and broker an extension of the ceasefire.