Modi-Trump talk: India must not let Pakistan wrest the initiative

FOR the past more than a month, US President Donald Trump has been patting himself on the back for having prodded India and Pakistan into agreeing to a ceasefire. In fact, he was the one who stumped the world with his May 10 announcement about a “full and immediate ceasefire” following a “long night of talks” mediated by the US. Notorious for changing his stance every few days, if not hours, Trump has somehow stuck to his guns on this contentious matter. His oft-repeated claim has been an irritant for India, which has historically shunned third-party intervention in bilateral disputes. Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attempted to set the record straight, and that too during a telephonic conversation with the US President himself.

The PM has clarified that India paused the strikes against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor following a request from Islamabad, not due to mediation or any offer of a trade deal by the US. This assertion puts a question mark over Trump’s boast that he used trade as a gambit to make India and Pakistan see reason. The bigger question is: Will the PM’s straight talk make Trump see reason and deter him from wedging his way into India-Pak affairs?

This prospect seems unlikely, going by the US President’s latest provocative move — hosting Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch at the White House. It was Munir who described Kashmir as Pakistan’s jugular vein, barely a week before the Pahalgam terror attack happened. He is apparently being rewarded for his key role in bolstering his country’s counter-terrorism partnership with the US. This bonhomie poses a big challenge to Indian diplomacy, which has to weigh up the pros and cons of confronting the US over its unstinting support to Pakistan. However, having suffered Pak-sponsored terrorism for decades, India cannot afford to take things lying down. It must go all out to thwart Islamabad’s efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue. If this displeases the US, so be it.

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