<P> Pakistan also played a crucial role in arranging the 1972 Nixon visit to China which led to normalization of ties between the two countries . Despite a worsening of relations following the election of the left - oriented Pakistan Peoples Party under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto , relations quickly improved and deepened during Operation Cyclone in the 1980s , which was directed against Soviet expansion in Central Asia and South Asia , by funding and training Muslim mujahideen in Afghanistan to combat the Soviet Union . Relations once again soured after the collapse of the Soviet Union , when the United States approved sanctions against Pakistan by passing the Pressler amendment , which was enacted against Pakistan for its nuclear weapons program , which was initiated after the war with India in 1971 and accelerated after India detonated a nuclear bomb in 1974 . Pakistan once again assumed an important role in American geopolitical interests in the region following the attacks of September 11th , 2001 , and the subsequent War on Terror . Relations were strengthened as the United States named Pakistan a major non-NATO ally in 2002 -- which allowed for the release of over $25 billion of aid to Pakistan . American recovery efforts following the 2005 Kashmir earthquake were widely appreciated by the Pakistani public . </P>
<P> Pakistan also played a crucial role in arranging the 1972 Nixon visit to China which led to normalization of ties between the two countries . Despite a worsening of relations following the election of the left - oriented Pakistan Peoples Party under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto , relations quickly improved and deepened during Operation Cyclone in the 1980s , which was directed against Soviet expansion in Central Asia and South Asia , by funding and training Muslim mujahideen in Afghanistan to combat the Soviet Union . Relations once again soured after the collapse of the Soviet Union , when the United States approved sanctions against Pakistan by passing the Pressler amendment , which was enacted against Pakistan for its nuclear weapons program , which was initiated after the war with India in 1971 and accelerated after India detonated a nuclear bomb in 1974 . Pakistan once again assumed an important role in American geopolitical interests in the region following the attacks of September 11th , 2001 , and the subsequent War on Terror . Relations were strengthened as the United States named Pakistan a major non-NATO ally in 2002 -- which allowed for the release of over $25 billion of aid to Pakistan . American recovery efforts following the 2005 Kashmir earthquake were widely appreciated by the Pakistani public . </P>
us suspends the military sales to pakistan according to an amendment called
us suspends the military sales to pakistan according to an amendment called
Pressler amendment
Pressler amendment