75 Rupees US-Pakistan Relations

Pakistan issued this coin to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations with the United States, a partnership formalized in 1947 shortly after independence and shaped almost entirely by Cold War calculations rather than any natural alignment of interests. Pakistan joined SEATO in 1954 and CENTO in 1955 largely to secure American military aid, and Washington obliged — until it didn't, imposing arms embargoes during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India at particularly damaging moments.

The relationship has lurched between strategic ally and sanctioned state more than once, with Pressler Amendment restrictions cutting off assistance through much of the 1990s over nuclear proliferation concerns.