From Denial to Admission: Pakistan’s Terror Revelation and the U.S. Shift Towards India Under Modi

Poonam Sharma

In a dramatic admission that caused shockwaves in diplomatic circles, Pakistan’s former Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confessed in a that Pakistan had been engaged in “dirty work” for decades on behalf of the United States and the West, in effect admitting decades of terrorist sponsorship through groups commonly used as strategic assets. “We have worked this dirty labor for the United States for something like three decades… and also for the West, including Britain. That was a blunder, and we paid the price for that…” — Khawaja Asif.

This is a  watershed moment in international geopolitics , not just for the unusual frankness of a Pakistani minister, but more significantly for what came next—or rather, what did not. The U.S. State Department, via spokesperson Tammy Bruce, had a carefully choreographed non-statement, that they were “monitoring developments” and talking to both India and Pakistan. Missing was any kind of distancing or denial of Asif’s statement. The silence was deafening.

While duplicity by Pakistan is no news to India—whose military personnel and civilians have suffered the bulk of cross-border terrorism—the real change is how the U.S. is now positioning itself  in the region.

Those days are behind us when U.S. diplomats would make moral equivalence between India’s counterterror operations and Pakistan’s jihadist networks. Now, the Modi government’s pro-active diplomacy, strategic economic alignment, and democratic values have brought about an  unprecedented proximity between Washington and New Delhi.

This is no minor accomplishment. In earlier Indian governments, the U.S. tended to see India as a non-aligned, reluctant ally. But under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, India has become a  central pillar in America’s Indo-Pacific strategy, a reliable ally in defense, technology, and intelligence sharing

To understand how big this change is, think about two earlier incidents:

The 2011 Abbottabad raid  that murdered Osama Bin Laden took place just a stone’s throw from the military headquarters of Pakistan. Yet the U.S., rightfully going it alone, never sanctioned Pakistan. Aid continued to flow; Islamabad was “a key ally.

Contrastingly, in the wake of the  2019 Pulwama terror attack, when 40 Indian CRPF jawans were killed by a Pakistan-based suicide bomber, the international response was tepid. The U.S. offered condolences but held back from making direct attacks on Pakistan.

Now cut to  2025. Following the Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 Indian civilians’ lives, India presented a convincing intelligence that connected the attackers to Pakistan-based handlers. On this occasion, the U.S. didn’t simply express sympathy. The U.S. stood by India in suspending Pakistani visas and appreciated the rationale behind re-examining the Indus Waters Treaty.

The contrast is stark. India is no longer pleading for international validation. Instead, it is shaping global opinion—and the U.S. is listening.

One cannot understate the role of Narendra Modi and the BJP in this transformation. Through visionary foreign policy, strong messaging, and robust national security postures, the Modi government has altered how India is perceived in world capitals.

Whether it is the  Quad alliance , combined military drills like  Yudh Abhyas , critical defense technology transfers , or semiconductor transactions, the U.S.-India relationship has never been tighter. And most importantly, this strategic proximity has yielded  geopolitical insulation. The U.S. now no longer balances  India and Pakistan—it has tilted solidly towards India.

This realignment has also silenced voices within the U.S. establishment which earlier had called for “restraint” by India. Today, Indian retaliation is regarded as justified, even justified, to ensure regional stability.

With Khawaja Asif’s remark, India’s long-standing argument—that  Pakistan employs terror as statecraft with the West’s implicit approval—has been justified. But more significantly, this incident illustrates how far India has progressed on the global stage.

From being a  victimized of terrorism passively  looking for international sympathy, India under Modi has emerged as a proactive, aggressive actor  influencing global rhetoric. The U.S. policy shift is not just diplomatic—it is a change in American thought : India is not merely an ally but a  counterbalance of critical magnitude  to China and international terrorism.

Pakistan’s admission may be shocking, but it is India’s quiet, strategic transformation under Modi’s leadership that is rewriting history. The U.S., once the inadvertent enabler of Pakistan’s double games, is now fully aware of where its true ally lies.

As the globe adjusts its South Asia strategy, this moment affirms one reality: India’s emergence is not merely economic or military—but diplomatic, moral, and ideological. And America, finally, is standing alongside India.