Pakistan: U.S. Recognition and Diplomatic Relations since 1776

Summary

The United States and Pakistan have generally enjoyed a close relationship since Pakistan’s independence in 1947. Pakistan has historically been a supporter of U.S. foreign policy, specifically during the United States’ opening to China and following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. For its part, the United States has striven to lessen tensions between Pakistan and India. Although relations between the United States and Pakistan remain somewhat unsettled over regional disputes and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, the United States has provided Pakistan with economic aid through loans and debt relief and is a major supplier of military equipment to Pakistan.

Modern Flag of Pakistan

Recognition

U.S. Recognition of Pakistani Independence, 1947

The United States recognized the Dominion of Pakistan as an independent state on August 15, 1947, when President Harry S. Truman sent a congratulatory message to Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Governor General of the Dominion of Pakistan, to congratulate Pakistan on its “emergence among the family of nations.” The area that became Pakistan had formerly been part of British India within the British Empire.

Diplomatic Relations

Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and the American Embassy in Pakistan, 1947

Diplomatic relations were established on August 15, 1947, when the U.S. Department of State established the American Embassy at Karachi with Charles W. Lewis, Jr., as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.

Resources

Where this page came from

This page was imported from U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776, published by the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State: a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

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