In a move set to anger New Delhi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has lauded Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts on its Independence Day, while completely ignoring India’s own war on terror. The praise comes barely months after the Pahalgam massacre, where LeT-linked TRF killed 26 civilians, and which the US has only now banned alongside the Balochistan Liberation Army. India’s fierce response, Operation Sindoor, struck deep into terror camps in Pakistan and PoK despite US President Trump warning India to stand down. Rubio’s warm embrace of Islamabad follows Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s trip to Washington, where he openly threatened India with nuclear war, a provocation met with silence from the US. With tensions already high over Trump’s tariff offensive on India and New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil, Washington’s shift signals a dangerous recalibration in South Asia, one that risks emboldening Pakistan while straining US–India trust.