Pakistan’s sarcastic criticism: India’s strong rebuttal

Issue concerning the United States dropping ‘Indo’ from the ‘US Indo-Pacific Command’

Islamabad (Pakistan): The United States has recently decided to rename its US Indo-Pacific Command back to its former title, US Pacific Command. In 2018, Donald Trump had renamed the Pacific Command as the Indo-Pacific Command to underscore India’s strategic importance on the global stage and to counterbalance China.

A highly geopolitically uneducated comment.

The Indo- Pacific concept linked the security of the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

Chinese maritime expansionism in the western Pacific and Japan’s concerns underlay this concept.

The Quad provided the structure.

Trump in his… https://t.co/LUgcf18OI1

— Kanwal Sibal (@KanwalSibal) June 17, 2026

Following the removal of the word “Indo”, Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, posted a sarcastic comment on X without directly mentioning India. She wrote:

“It is quite astonishing that the renaming of a US military command can so completely shake a country’s perception of its own relevance and prestige. It is a rather unfortunate and subservient state of affairs for any nation’s sense of pride.”

India’s former Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, responded firmly to Pakistan’s criticism. He remarked:

“Hina Rabbani Khar’s observation reflects a lack of understanding of both Geography and Diplomacy. The Indo-Pacific is not merely a name; it is a strategic concept that directly links the security of the Pacific Ocean with that of the Indian Ocean.”

🇮🇳 Pakistan’s mockery gets a firm reality check!

Kanwal Sibal slammed Hina Rabbani Khar for dismissing the significance of Trump restoring the US Pacific Command name.

The Indo-Pacific framework linked Indian and Pacific Ocean security, countering China’s maritime expansion… pic.twitter.com/G7s41DCk6o

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) June 19, 2026

Explaining the broader strategic implications of the change, Sibal wrote on X:

1. “Trump had renamed the US Pacific Command as the US Indo-Pacific Command to convey a major strategic message. By restoring the old name, the conceptual linkage between the security of the Pacific Ocean and that of the Indian Ocean is weakened. It is therefore entirely natural for any country to analyse the strategic thinking and diplomatic reasoning behind such a change.”

2.  “From the outset, China has strongly opposed both the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ and the Quad grouping, which includes India, the United States, Japan, and Australia. China has consistently argued that the entire concept was designed to contain and encircle it at sea.”

3.  “The Indo-Pacific concept emerged as a framework to address Chinese expansionism in the Western Pacific. Through the Quad, it acquired a stronger and more effective strategic structure.”

4.   “Now that the United States has removed the word ‘Indo’, China will undoubtedly seek to exploit the situation. By portraying the United States as being less committed to the security of the Indian Ocean, China may attempt to alter the regional balance of power in its favour.”