India suffered 3 diplomatic setbacks from US, govt's foreign policy driven by domestic politics: Congress

The Congress on Thursday claimed India has suffered three huge diplomatic setbacks from the US which is constantly hyphenating India and Pakistan and that the Modi governments foreign policy has failed as it is driven by domestic political considerations reported news agency PTICongress general secretary incharge communications Jairam Ramesh said the US recent statements were both a challenge and a warning and required serious thinking when the PM is only interested in playing divisive politics reported PTIHe also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should leave aside his stubbornness to call an allparty meeting and a special session of ParliamentYesterday Indian foreign policy and diplomacy received three huge undeniable setbacks The General of the US Central Command gives a statement that Pakistan is a phenomenal partner in counterterrorism What is phenomenal On May 2 2011 Osama Bin Laden was found in Abbottabad and you are calling that country a phenomenal partner Ramesh told PTISo the first setback is the US general giving a clean chit to Pakistan he saidUS Army General Michael Kurilla Commander of US Central Command CENTCOM has said Pakistan is in an active counterterrorism fight right now and has been a phenomenal partner in the counterterrorism world reported PTIThe United States has to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India and noted that it cannot be a binary switch where Washington cannot have ties with Islamabad if it has relations with New Delhi Kurilla said during a testimony before the US House Armed Services Committee on TuesdayRamesh further said Failed Marshal Asim Munir who gave such inflammatory incendiary and provocative statements talked about the twonation theory Hindus and Muslims and there is a direct relation between his statement and what happened in Pahalgam on April 22 Same Asim Munir gets a special invitation to go to America on US Army Day on June 14 which is incomprehensible reported PTIThe third setback is that the US State Department spokesperson again repeated that it was US President Donald Trump who was responsible for bringing about a deescalation between India and Pakistan the Congress leader saidHe said again the US has hyphenated India and Pakistan while Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are completely silent on itHe Modi meets members of delegations but does not have time for an allparty meeting to meet leaders of political parties Our democracy is based on political parties not on individuals Ramesh said reported PTILeaders of opposition parties have written to the PM to call a special session of Parliament but the government has rejected the request and instead announced the monsoon session from July 21Is he PM Modi going to allow a special debate on our challenges with China and Pakistan and now our challenge with the US We thought that we were having an extended honeymoon with the US but it has delivered three huge setbacks to Indian diplomacy yesterday Ramesh said reported PTIThis is a failure of the government of India of the PM of his External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar of his Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and of his drum beaters Ramesh saidI am shocked that these setbacks have come two days after the prime minister has met the delegation of MPs he told PTIRamesh accused the PM of playing politics by picking and choosing individualsWe are saying call an allparty meeting an allparty meeting where you dont determine who will be there like you did in picking delegations the Congress leader said reported PTIHe alleged that the governments diplomacy is totally domestic orientedWhatever we do abroad how does it play domestically It is for domestic consumption All observers are saying that these delegations were for domestic consumption he said reported PTIRamesh claimed that the foreign policy of the Modi government is being dictated by domestic political considerationsEarlier in a post in Hindi on X Ramesh asserted that decades of diplomatic progress cannot be allowed to be weakened so easilyIt is reported that Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir has been invited to the event organised in Washington DC on the occasion of US Army Day 14 June This news is a big setback for India from a diplomatic and strategic point of view Ramesh saidThis is the same person who used provocative and inciting language just before the Pahalgam terror attack the question arises what is Americas intention the Congress general secretary saidRecently the head of the US Central Command also stated that Pakistan is a great partner of America in the fight against terrorism Ramesh saidThe Modi government is saying that Operation Sindoor is still going on In such a situation the Pakistani army chiefs participation as a guest in the US Army Day is definitely a matter of serious concern he saidRamesh said the Trump administration is constantly making statements that can only be interpreted to mean that it is hyphenating India and PakistanThe prime minister is welcoming the delegations that returned after informing the entire world including the US about Pakistans role in supporting terrorism and at the same time such news is coming from Washington DC making Indias diplomatic position even more uncomfortable Ramesh saidThe prime minister should now leave aside his stubbornness and concern for prestige and call an allparty meeting and a special session of Parliament so that the nation can clearly express its collective will and a concrete roadmap can be presented to the country he saidThe statements from the US come days after an allparty Indian parliamentary delegation visited the country to convey Indias strong resolve to combat terrorism emanating from Pakistan in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 livesWith inputs from PTI