United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Saturday said Washington and Islamabad were developing a “true friendship” as he lauded Pakistan’s role in the ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations.

With Pakistan acting as the official interlocutor between Washington and Tehran in the ongoing peace negotiations that resulted in the April 8 US-Iran ceasefire, Trump and his top officials have hailed Islamabad’s role several times.

At the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth was asked about former director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s remarks on Pakistan’s future missile capabilities potentially posing a threat to the US, and whether India’s Agni-VI missile programme posed a similar threat.

The question was posed after Hegseth, in his speech, had lauded US defence cooperation with Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian countries, as well as India, which he termed a “critical anchor to hold the line”.

“I mentioned India here, but I very easily could have mentioned Pakistan and the role that the field marshal and the prime minister are playing in peace negotiations,” Hegseth replied, praising PM Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.

“I think an unexpected development and a true friendship [is] developing there, which I think is important,” he added.

Noting that both India and Pakistan were nuclear-capable countries, Hegseth said, “I think both sides are going to see understandable threats coming from the other, maybe some of which we see differently, and countries are going to want to develop ICBM threats.”

However, he added, “But we’re not pointing fingers, at least from our view, right now, at either country and calling them a threat to us.”

The defense secretary further said that the US was “grateful for, in each of their lanes, the benefits they’ve given to peace around the world”.

Hegseth also reiterated Washington and Islamabad’s stance that President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Pakistan and India during the May 2025 conflict — a narrative that India’s PM Narendra Modi has denied, irking Trump.

The US president has lauded PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir on multiple occasions, calling the prime minister “great” and the military chief “fantastic” last month.

In February, at the inaugural meeting of the US-led Board of Peace, Trump had praised Shehbaz and described the field marshal as a “tough man” and a “serious fighter”.

The US president has even referred to the army chief as “my favourite field marshal”.

In November 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US saw an opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan and that the recent strengthening of ties between the two countries did not come at the expense of Washington’s relationship with New Delhi.