# Modi's bid to isolate Pakistan backfires as Islamabad courts Washington and Beijing > A decade after Modi vowed to quarantine Pakistan, Islamabad signs minerals and crypto deals with Trump's circle and an 'all-weather' upgrade with Xi — and India is left protesting from the sidelines **Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-05-29 · heads: Lo que no dicen, Quién decide, El cambio silencioso · 21 takes · 11 lenses · 10 regions ## Summary A decade after [Narendra Modi](/es/entity/narendra-modi) pledged after the 2016 Uri attack to diplomatically isolate [Pakistan](/es/entity/pakistan), the policy has visibly inverted. Through 2025-26 [Pakistan](/es/entity/pakistan) engaged Washington, Beijing, Tehran and Riyadh simultaneously: it signed critical-minerals deals with the Trump administration ([United States](/es/entity/united-states) EXIM Bank approved $1.3bn for the Reko Diq copper-gold project under "Project Vault"), a non-binding USD1-stablecoin MoU with the Trump-linked SC Financial Technologies, and on 25-26 May an "all-weather" partnership upgrade with [China](/es/entity/china) — [Shehbaz Sharif](/es/entity/shehbaz-sharif) meeting [Xi Jinping](/es/entity/xi-jinping) at the Great Hall of the People. [[Al Jazeera]]'s 29 May "backfire" analysis crystallised the framing. Pakistan also acted as mediator in the US-Iran "Islamabad MoU" and nominated [Donald Trump](/es/entity/donald-trump) for a Nobel — credit Modi refused after the May 2025 ceasefire — leaving [India](/es/entity/india) protesting the joint statement's Kashmir and CPEC references. See [Lo que no dicen](/es/head/what-theyre-not-saying), [Quién decide](/es/head/who-decides). ## The split Pakistani outlets ([[The Express Tribune]], [[Pakistan Today]]) treat it as vindication — Islamabad restored to the table. [[Al Jazeera]] and Gulf papers stress structural drivers: mediation utility, minerals, remittances. Indian adversarial voices ([[The Wire]], Congress via [[The Tribune (India)]]) call it a "monumental failure" of Modi's foreign policy; establishment outlets ([[Organiser]]) reject the thesis, reading China's Kashmir line as Beijing's anxiety over India's rise. [[China]]'s [[CGTN]] omits any India angle entirely, framing only "iron brothers" and a shared future. ## By the numbers - $1.3bn — US EXIM financing approved (7 Feb 2026) for Reko Diq, the sole foreign deal in the $10bn "Project Vault" portfolio. - $500m — pledged US private investment in Pakistani critical minerals (US Strategic Metals / FWO). - ~$34bn — Pakistan remittances this fiscal year, led by Saudi Arabia ($7.93bn) and the UAE ($7bn). - 75 — anniversary, in years, of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations marked by the May visit. - 2016 — year of Modi's Uri-era pledge to isolate Pakistan "across the world". - 2008 — Mumbai attacks, the last time India broadly succeeded in isolating Pakistan (per The Wire). ## Why it matters India's signature regional strategy — quarantine Pakistan, lean on a personal Trump rapport — has not delivered: Trump has visited [China](/es/entity/china) but not [India](/es/entity/india), floated a trip to [Pakistan](/es/entity/pakistan), and let Islamabad broker his Iran diplomacy. The reversal exposes [Narendra Modi](/es/entity/narendra-modi) at home (opposition attacks) and abroad (cooler US ties), while hard-wiring Pakistan deeper into both the US minerals supply chain and CPEC. ## What to watch - Whether the Reko Diq financing and "Project Vault" survive Balochistan's legal challenges and security risks. - A Trump visit to Pakistan and/or India — the clearest signal of which capital Washington now prioritises. - CPEC Phase 2 / Karakoram Highway and Gwadar progress, and any new India MEA pushback on the Kashmir clause. - Whether the Congress critique gains traction against Modi's foreign-policy record beyond [Modi's plan to nearly double the Lok Sabha is voted down](/es/n/india-delimitation-parliament-expansion). ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### unlabelled - **Ministry of External Affairs (India)** (India, en) — India's MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal's 26 May statement rejecting the Kashmir and CPEC references in the China-Pakistan joint statement — the official Indian record of New Delhi's objection (carried via The Week; MEA briefing). Source: https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2026/05/26/no-other-country-can-comment-on-jandk-india-strongly-opposes-china-pak-references-to-jammu-and-kashmir.html - **Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)** (Pakistan, en) — Full text of the 26 May 2026 China-Pakistan joint statement: all-weather partnership upgrade, CPEC 2.0, Karakoram Highway and Gwadar, a security partnership, TTP/ETIM language, and a Kashmir reference. Source: https://mofa.gov.pk/press-releases/joint-statement-between-the-peoples-republic-of-china-and-the-islamic-republic-of-pakistan-may-26-2026 - **Ministry of Foreign Affairs (China)** (China, zh) — Chinese-language text of the same joint statement, framing the partnership as having 'greater strategic and contemporary value' and committing to the 2025-2029 community-of-shared-destiny action plan. Source: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/zyxw/202605/t20260526_11917901.shtml - **US Export-Import Bank / Profit (Pakistan Today)** (United States, en) — Record of EXIM Bank's 7 Feb 2026 approval of $1.3bn for the Reko Diq copper-gold project under the 'Project Vault' critical-minerals framework — the sole foreign deal in that portfolio. Source: https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/02/07/us-commits-1-3-billion-to-pakistans-reko-diq-copper-and-gold-project/ - **CoinDesk** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/01/14/pakistan-signs-deal-with-trump-linked-crypto-business-for-cross-border-payments - **CSIS** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.csis.org/analysis/minerals-diplomacy-meets-market-reality-case-pakistan - **The Diplomat** (United States, en) — Source: https://thediplomat.com/2026/05/why-the-pakistan-china-partnership-remains-resilient/ - **The Daily Star** (Bangladesh, en) — Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/slow-reads/geopolitical-insights/news/what-the-pakistan-afghanistan-conflict-means-bangladesh-4126351 - **TOLOnews** (Afghanistan, en) — Source: https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-199167 - **Caliber.az** (Azerbaijan, en) — Source: https://caliber.az/en/post/china-s-geopolitical-wildcard-the-bet-on-pakistan - **Foreign Policy** (United States, en) — Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/03/pakistan-iran-diplomacy-mediation-munir-india/ ### pan-regional / sympathetic to Islamabad framing - **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — The anchor 'backfire' analysis. Argues Modi's 2016 isolation pledge has inverted: Pakistan now engages Washington, Beijing, Tehran and Riyadh simultaneously while India's US ties cool. Quotes Atlantic Council and Quaid-i-Azam analysts. > "India's strategy of undercutting and isolating Pakistan, regionally and globally, has backfired in a big way. — Michael Kugelman, Atlantic Council" Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/29/how-indian-pm-modis-efforts-to-isolate-pakistan-backfired ### Pakistani independent / triumphalist - **The Express Tribune** (Pakistan, en) — Pakistani-establishment-aligned reading: casts the decade-long isolation drive as a strategic failure and Islamabad's 2025-26 mediation between Washington and Tehran as proof of restored centrality. Emphasises Pakistan as a 'hinge' between regions. > "Pakistan, once cast as a pariah, now sits at the table where Washington and Tehran negotiate — the isolation script has been reversed." Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2612478/indias-failed-pursuit-of-pakistans-isolation ### Pakistani independent / government-line amplifier - **Pakistan Today** (Pakistan, en) — Amplifies the backfire narrative for a domestic audience, foregrounding the Nobel nomination Pakistan extended to Trump and contrasting it with Modi's refusal to credit the US for the May 2025 ceasefire. > "Islamabad acknowledged Trump's role in the truce and nominated him for the Nobel; a sullen New Delhi insisted the ceasefire was its own call." Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/05/29/modis-bid-to-isolate-pakistan-backfires-as-islamabad-gains-global-diplomatic-influence-al-jazeera ### Indian adversarial / opposition-aligned - **The Wire** (India, en) — Adversarial Indian take calling Pakistan's diplomatic resurgence a 'monumental failure' of Modi's foreign policy, tracing it to New Delhi's abandonment of SAARC and over-reliance on a personal Trump rapport that has not delivered. > "Pakistan, which India had successfully isolated after Mumbai 2008, has now acquired a new regional and global influence." Source: https://m.thewire.in/article/diplomacy/pakistan-india-diplomacy-modi-government-foreign-policy-us-iran-agreement ### Indian mainstream / opposition reportage - **The Tribune (India)** (India, en) — Reports the Congress critique: Jairam Ramesh calls the 'Islamabad MoU' between the US and Iran a 'severe setback' to Modi's foreign policy that confirms Pakistan's restored standing — the domestic political channel of the story. > "That the agreement is called the Islamabad MoU shows Pakistan's new-found regional standing and global influence. — Jairam Ramesh, Congress" Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/congress-says-us-iran-islamabad-mou-reflects-pakistans-rising-clout-questions-modis-foreign-policy/ ### Indian establishment / RSS-aligned rebuttal - **Organiser** (India, en) — The establishment counter-frame: dismisses the backfire thesis, reads China's Kashmir references as a sign of Beijing's anxiety over India's rise rather than Pakistani strength, and defends Modi's posture. > "China's remarks on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir betray Beijing's anxiety over India's rise, not Islamabad's revival." Source: https://organiser.org/2026/05/28/355508/world/why-chinas-remarks-on-pakistan-occupied-jammu-and-kashmir-reveal-beijings-anxiety-over-indias-rise/ ### Chinese state media - **CGTN** (China, zh) — Beijing's framing of the 25 May Great Hall meeting: Xi calls Sharif an 'old friend,' stresses an 'unbreakable' friendship and a 'community with a shared future,' and praises Pakistan's Middle East mediation — no mention of any India backfire. > "中巴是好朋友、好伙伴、好兄弟，要构建更紧密的中巴命运共同体。 (China and Pakistan are good friends, partners and brothers, building a closer shared future.)" Source: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-05-25/President-Xi-Jinping-meets-Pakistani-PM-Shehbaz-Sharif-1NqWX7GKl3y/p.html ### China-watching, market-aware - **South China Morning Post** (Hong Kong, en) — Reads the visit's economic substance — CPEC Phase 2, Karakoram Highway upgrade, Gwadar, Chinese-worker security guarantees — as Beijing deepening a strategic bet on Pakistan amid US-China rivalry. (Equivalent SCMP/AJ economy coverage.) > "Pakistan and China reached a 'new broad consensus' on CPEC 2.0 and security cooperation, deepening an all-weather bet." Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/26/pakistan-and-china-reach-new-broad-consensus-on-boosting-ties ### Gulf establishment - **Arab News** (Saudi Arabia, en) — Gulf framing: foregrounds Pakistan's labour-and-capital dependence on Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar (~$34bn in remittances this fiscal year) and Sharif's envoy meetings, positioning Islamabad as a useful regional interlocutor rather than a pariah. > "Sharif met Pakistan's envoys to Gulf states and Iran to deepen economic ties as Islamabad sustains investment inflows." Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2644088/amp ### US business / influence-mapping - **Bloomberg** (United States, en) — Maps how Pakistani operators cultivated Trump's circle through World Liberty Financial, turning a crypto relationship into political access — the soft-power channel behind the minerals and mediation headlines. > "A 35-year-old crypto entrepreneur helped Pakistan win over Trump world, converting blockchain ties into political access." Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-29/how-a-35-year-old-crypto-bro-from-pakistan-won-over-trump ## Across the graph - Related: [[india-delimitation-parliament-expansion]], [[pakistan-budget-2026-27-imf]] - Entities: Narendra Modi, India, Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, China, United States --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/es/n/india-pakistan-isolation-backfire