Trump Pulls a Rabbit out of the Hat and Reverses 6 Decades Us Policy on Kashmir by Lying That Modi Asked Him to Mediate
Trumps Bombshell
Donald Trump played host to Imran Khan the Pakistan Prime minister. He had just a few months back attacked the Pakistan government as a fomenter of terror in Afghanistan and suspended military aid to it. Something drastically changed after that and we had the news that the Pakistan PM is invited to the white house.
The visit is a success and Imran Khan on returning home commented that he felt the same satisfaction as he felt on returning to Pakistan, after winning the cricket World cup in 1992.
During this visit, Trump, as is his wont, crossed many red lines in relations with India. At a joint meeting, Trump claimed that during his last meeting with Narendra Modi in Manila about two months back, he had been requested by Modi to mediate in the Kashmir dispute and help find a solution to it. He further added that he would be glad to help out.
Obviously, such a claim delighted the Pak premier who thanked Trump with a cryptic comment that one billion people would forever be thankful to him( Trump) for this. This is reported by CNN international. Trump's statement was like pulling a rabbit out of the hat as for the last six decades the US policy has toed the Indian line that there was no need for any meditation and the problem needs to be solved bilaterally.
Indian Rebuttel
Before the News agencies could get feedback from their patrons there was a swift rebuttal of the claim made by Trump. Mr. Jaishankaer the Indian foreign minister stated in both houses of parliament that Narendra Modi had made no such request and Kashmir had not been talked about in the meeting. Subsequently, the Indian government asked for the details of the meeting between Trump and Modi be published.
Trump's offer has not been liked by India which says that the cornerstone of the Kashmir policy is the Simla agreement of 1972, which clearly states that any problem between Indian and Pakistan would be discussed bilaterally and there would be no third-party mediation.
Trump has not responded to the Indian assertion as perhaps what he said was a lie. Trump has the propensity to bluff and concoct stories to support his viewpoint. This is not an idle comment and the Washinton Post has reported that Donald Trump in his three years in office has uttered 10,796 lies. This is a strong allegation but there is documentary proof of it.
The Future
Trump has done a lot of damage to ties with India with which the USA has a strategic relationship. The state department has immediately after Trump's claim said that the USA respects Indian susceptibilities and would like the close relationship to continue. Obviously, Trump made the comment to please Imran Khan with a view to getting Pakistan to help in Afghanistan.
The US army as is well known is chaffing as it has been unable to defeat the Taliban despite fighting with greater firepower. But there is a red line here as Imran Khan is not the man who calls the shots in Pakistan but the Army Chief General Javed Bajwa. The General was also on the list along with Imran. This is something that never happened during earlier visits by Pakistan prime ministers. Matters have been compounded with the Taliban rejecting any talks with the Afghan government.
The USA cannot afford to antagonize India which is part of the strategic initiative to control China. Trump has thus thoughtlessly created a fresh controversy. Probably Trump did not realize that such a statement changed the goal post after six decades and one wonders if he is the great stateman he claims to be.
