US and Pakistani troops have concluded a joint military training exercise, ‘Inspired Gambit 2026’, at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Pabbi, drawing sharp political reactions in India, with the Congress calling it a setback to the Modi government’s foreign policy narrative.
American and Pakistani soldiers wrapped up the two-week exercise, held from January 8 to 16, with a focus on combined infantry skills, tactical coordination and counterterrorism operations.
According to a statement issued by the US Central Command (Centcom), training exercises such as this “strengthen our long-standing defence ties” with Pakistan.
The statement added that the exercise “focused on combined infantry skills and tactics, and counterterrorism operations.”
The development comes amid broader signs of renewed engagement between the defence establishments of the two countries.
Military-to-military ties between Pakistan and the United States appear to be strengthening, marked by fresh joint training initiatives, major defence sales and unusually warm rhetoric from US President Donald Trump towards Pakistan’s military leadership, Dawn reported on Saturday.
Reacting to the joint exercise, the Congress took a swipe at the Modi government. Congress general secretary and in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “In yet another blow to the self-proclaimed Vishwaguru's self-boastful diplomacy, the US Central Command has just issued a statement saying that US and Pakistani Army soldiers have completed joint training exercises...”
Referring to earlier remarks by US officials, Ramesh said that in June 2025, the then Chief of the US Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, had hailed Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner” in counter-terrorism.
Ramesh further said, “President Trump himself has repeatedly expressed his deep admiration for Field Marshal Asim Munir, whose inflammatory and communally provocative remarks had provided the immediate backdrop to the Pakistan-orchestrated terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025.”
He also added, “Just yesterday, President Trump reiterated that he had intervened to have Operation Sindoor halted on May 10, 2025.”
According to Dawn, the timing of the exercise underlines a wider re-engagement between Washington and Islamabad, as both sides seek to deepen cooperation, particularly in counterterrorism and military coordination.