In fairness that’s a litte conspiratorial. Pak didn’t become that much of a failed state until the late 2000s. Until then you didnt have random jihadists running around blowing up buildings in lahore and karachi. But yes allowing Pak to get nukes was a massive foreign policy blunder on America’s part.
That's where US got it wrong. Pakistan's "State" establishment never failed. Its a well oiled machinery even today.
Here's a Paki terrorist timeline for y'all-
1)
Insurgency in Kashmir-(1948)- The King of the Princely state of Kashmir acceded neither to India nor to Pakistan at the time of separation. Guess what Pakis did? Sent tribal lakshkars
Afridis into Kashmir to kill, loot rape and invade. The King acceded to India and it was only then the Indian Army could intervene.
2)
Insurgency in Afghanistan-(1974)- Pakis are extremely cunning at guilt tripping the self-depreciating liberal scholars of the West- "How can you blame us when you asked for the creation of Mujaheed". Well, that's one more shitty arguement. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had openly admitted to sending terrorists to Afghanistan to destabilise them.
3)
"Invasion by Soviet Union"(1979)- It was never an invasion by the Ruskies. It was the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan who sought the help of Ruskies to contain this menace coming from Pak. The United States, in all its glory, blinded by its sheer hatred for Communists was happy to be in bed with Pakis to create something that's way more dangerous and barbaric than Communists.
Also, Soviet left Afghanistan in 1989. Had the containment of these radicals started by either Pak or the US in 1990s, you wouldn't have had this mess. What would be the average age of those who fought in 70s and 80s today?? In their 50s, right? But here you have teenagers and men in their 20s fighting in Afghanistan. Still buying the bullshit that "these are the men you helped create, how can you blame us for that?"
4)
Rise in Insurgency in Kashmir(1990s)- The surplus stock of terrorists was conveniently diverted to Kashmir during the 1990s. Attaching a trend for you-
5) Global War On Terror(2001-2021) - Look at the map of Afghanistan. Bounded by Russian underbelly on the North, Iran on its west,a small rough corridor to China on the east and the Glorious Islamic republic of Pakistan on its South and east. US was already not on great terms with China, Russia or Iran to engage with them on a military cooperation. So who did you choose to go to war with?
Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan. You should have just eliminated the Al-qaeda hideouts and got the hell out of there. The Kunduz airlift of 2001 wasn't enough of an eye-opener for you.
In parallel Indian Airlines hijack IC 814 happened, Indian Parliament Attack of 2001, Mumbai Attack of 2008, Bombay bombings of 1993, Pathankot, Uri, Pulwama and the list goes on.
The US got its own soldiers killed, its allies killed, ordinary citizens of Afghanistan and India killed and maimed- all thanks to its unflinching support of Pakistan through covert and overt economic and military aid.
One must question the intent of this war- was it ever about containing terrorism or just a sham to enrich its military-industrial complex by sacrificing the lives of so many soldiers and destroying the peace of the region.
And to your point-
Pak didn’t become that much of a failed state until the late 2000s. Until then you didnt have random jihadists running around blowing up buildings in lahore and karachi
Pakistan is not a failed state. Its economy is screwed, its infrastructure is almost non-existent and almost all its social indicators are bleak. But the arm that takes care of the stuff such as terrorism, nukes, and foreign policy (ironically its the same body there- Pak Army) is a well-oiled and well-financed machinery. Bomb blasts didn't happen in Lahore or Karachi because they were happening here in India, in Afghanistan or in the worship places of Shias and Ahmedis. Now, a few elements have started returning the favor.
And if the US thinks it can contain Pak by pandering to its tantrums of "you keep the cash flowing or we'll give the nukes to terrorists" then it is never going to work.
Pakistan is Al-Qaeda, ISIS(Terrorists), Iran(Rogue Islamic Nation with a vision of military dominance), and North Korea(Chinese vassal state with nukes) all rolled into one.