ISLAMABAD: United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington needed to maintain relations with nuclear-armed Pakistan despite some policy differences, saying engagement with Islamabad could help address regional security concerns.

The US has long maintained security and diplomatic ties with both Pakistan and India, whose relations remain strained mainly over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir and allegations of fanning militancy on the other’s land. In 2025, Rubio, who was then a senator, had also pledged to introduce legislation to cut US security assistance to Pakistan if it sponsored militancy against India.

The US secretary of state is currently visiting India for talks aimed at deepening cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, with discussions expected to focus on defense, trade, technology and regional security as the United States seeks to strengthen its partnership with India while also managing relations with other South Asian nations.

“In the case of Pakistan, it’s a country that we have to have a relationship with. It’s a country that possesses nuclear weapons. It’s a country that, from a geographic standpoint, we need to be able to interact with them in much the same way as the government of India has to have and has a relationship and meets with leaders from Iran,” Rubio said in an interview with India’s News 18 broadcaster.

“I think in a way it could be a positive thing, because if we have a relationship and we can speak to them, it could perhaps help us help discourage the kinds of things that India is worried about.”

India accuses Pakistan of supporting militants in the part of Kashmir it controls, while Islamabad blames New Delhi for backing militant groups carrying out attacks in its western provinces that border Afghanistan. Both deny the other’s allegations.

The two nuclear-armed neighbors last year fought a brief, but intense military conflict triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. It saw the neighbors attack each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery before agreeing to a ceasefire that President Donald Trump said was achieved through US mediation, though India denied it.

Rubio said while he had previously spoken on the issue as a US senator, his responsibilities as secretary of state required him to balance the broader US foreign policy considerations.

“We’re against terrorism anywhere in the world. We’re against anybody who sponsors terrorism,” he said.

“In my new role, I’m no longer a senator, I’m the secretary of state. I have to manage the foreign policy of the United States, and that does require us to have relationships with countries, including those that we may have some disagreements with.”