The Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications focused on two key allegations from the newly released document, including Trump’s claim on India-Pakistan conflict and the shift in tone on Pakistan.
File Photo: IANS
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday took a sharp swipe at the Centre following the release of the 33-page US National Security Strategy (NSS) by the White House, alleging a concerning shift in the American approach towards Pakistan and highlighting the document’s repetition of a disputed claim regarding India-Pakistan relations.
The Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications focused on two key allegations from the newly released document, including Trump’s claim on India-Pakistan conflict and the shift in tone on Pakistan.
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Ramesh pointed out that the document reiterates US President Donald Trump’s personal assertion of resolving a conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad, a claim consistently rejected by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
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“In his introduction to the document, President Trump reiterates his claim that he ‘settled the raging conflict between India and Pakistan.’ The same claim is repeated on page 8,” Ramesh stated, sharing an excerpt from the document on social media.
This claim by President Trump, which has been repeated several times in the past, pertains to a period of heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours earlier in the year, which the US President has repeatedly sought credit for resolving through his personal intervention. India has maintained that the de-escalation was a result of direct talks between the two countries.
The second central allegation made by the Congress leader concerns a noticeable change in the language used to describe Pakistan compared to the Trump administration’s previous strategy document.
Ramesh claimed, “The 2025 National Security Strategy also marks a notable shift in the US approach to Pakistan. It avoids the explicit criticism that defined the 2017 Trump-era strategy document, which openly accused Pakistan of supporting militants targeting US partners, demanded stronger counterterrorism action, and pressed Islamabad to demonstrate responsible management of its nuclear arsenal.”
He added, “The new strategy omits any such references.”
Ramesh further remarked with a Hindi couplet to underscore his criticism of the government’s perceived failure to maintain a strong US stance against Pakistan: “Kya se kya ho gaya, bewafa teri dosti mein” (What has become of our friendship, unfaithful one).
The US National Security Strategy is a mandated document prepared by the executive branch for the US Congress, outlining the administration’s strategy on national security, foreign policy, and other major concerns.
The 2017 NSS, released during the same administration, was noted for its harsh and direct language towards Pakistan, explicitly linking US aid to decisive action against terrorist groups. The alleged omission of similar criticism in the 2025 document, coupled with the repetition of Trump’s mediation claim—which India has repeatedly contested—forms the basis of the Congress party’s criticism.
The party has repeatedly questioned the Prime Minister’s silence on President Trump’s claims of settling the India-Pakistan conflict.
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