Pakistan–United States relations

Pakistan and the United States established relations on 15 August 1947, a day after the independence of Pakistan, when the United States became one of the first nations to recognize Pakistan.

The relationship between the two nations, however, has been described as "roller coaster" given by the characterization of close coordination and lows marked by deep bilateral estrangement. During the Cold War (1945–1991), Pakistan allied itself with the Western Bloc led by the United States against the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union. Following the 1958 Pakistani military coup, president Muhammad Ayub Khan established a strong military alliance with the United States. During the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the United States aided Pakistan against the Provisional Government of Bangladesh and India. After the Pakistani defeat, Pakistan's leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, an anti-American, improved relations with the Soviets. In 1977, Bhutto was overthrown in a military coup led by Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan and the United States cooperated in the funding and financing of the anti-communist Afghan mujahideen and then in the ensuing First Afghan Civil War. The United States has imposed sanctions on Pakistan on various occasions to force Pakistan to comply with its strategic interests since 1965, with Pakistan's willingness to participate with the United States in the wars in Somalia and Bosnia, relations improved. However, the United States again suspended aid and imposed sanctions along with India in 1998, only to be lifted once again with the United States engagement in Afghanistan in 2001. Factors involving in the contingency operations, distrust, and different priorities of both nations in the Afghan War led to serious criticism as both sides began to criticize each other's strategy to achieve common goals in the War on Terror. The United States continues to blame Pakistan's military for supporting non-state actors, including the Taliban. Furthermore, drone strikes by both nations, a friendly fire incident at Salala, and an incident involving the arrest of a spy in Lahore further complicated relations.

Despite the troubled events and times, though, the Pakistani military once occupied an important place in American geopolitical strategy, and has been a major non-NATO ally since 2002. After Pakistan's participation in the Afghan peace process and the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in 2021, a sizeable number of US policy makers are revisiting the United States relations with Pakistan. At the same time, the strategic convergence of the United States and India has also brought greater pressure on Pakistani diplomacy.

The conflicts sharply soured the public opinion in both nations, with public opinion of each nation ranking the other as one of the least favored countries in 2013. As of 2014, 59% of Pakistanis consider the United States to be an enemy, reduced from 74% in 2012. The Pakistanis have the least favorable view of US compared with 39 countries in the world surveyed by Pew. US favorability has ranged between 23 (2005) to 10 (2002) in Pakistan during 1999–2013. A Gallup poll showed that more than 72% of Pakistanis thought the United States was an enemy rather than a friend of Pakistan.

There are an estimated 554,202 self-identified Pakistani Americans living in the United States and about 52,486 Americans residing in Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan also hosts one of the largest embassies of the United States in Islamabad, and the largest consulate-general, in terms of both personnel and facilities, in the city of Karachi.