Pakistan, once a recurring fixture in American security planning, has almost vanished from the Trump administration’s newly released 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), despite recent attempts by Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir to regain influence in Washington.
The 2025 NSS, published this week, contains just one reference to Pakistan, unlike Trump’s 2017 strategy, which frequently criticised Islamabad for giving “safe haven to terror organisations.” This year’s document avoids revisiting those themes and instead mentions Pakistan only in the context of the May 2025 limited war with India.
According to the NSS, “President Trump personally negotiated the peace process that ended the May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan.” The document frames the ceasefire as a diplomatic success for Washington following the four-day clash triggered by the Pahalgam terror attack, which led India to launch Operation Sindoor, a quick and punishing campaign that crippled Pakistan’s air and ground assets.
However, Trump’s claim has been repeatedly rejected by New Delhi. Indian officials have consistently maintained that there was no foreign mediation, insisting the ceasefire was arranged directly between the militaries. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said in past briefings that “there was no third-party role at any stage.”
The NSS focuses heavily on China, the Indo-Pacific, and great-power competition, while Pakistan—once considered a frontline state—is nearly invisible. The strategy states that the United States will “work with partners who advance stability in the Indo-Pacific” and will counter states that undermine regional order, but Pakistan is not named in these sections.
