Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday cited international media reports to claim that Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, describing the development as a “severe setback and rebuff to India.”
File Photo: IANS
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday cited international media reports to claim that Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, describing the development as a “severe setback and rebuff to India.”
In a statement posted on X, Ramesh said, “Multiple reports in leading international media outlets have identified Pakistan as one of the intermediaries being used between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other. If these reports are true, they represent a severe setback and rebuff to India — and it is all attributable to the self-styled Vishwaguru.”
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His remarks come amid heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia and renewed scrutiny of India’s diplomatic positioning in the region.
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Ramesh further argued that despite India’s “undoubted military successes” in Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has outperformed New Delhi diplomatically over the past year.
“The sad reality is that thereafter Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement and narrative management has been markedly superior to that of the Modi government,” he said, adding that Islamabad, once facing severe political, economic and global challenges, has now gained renewed relevance.
The Congress leader also pointed to the evolving relationship between Pakistan’s leadership and former US President Donald Trump, alleging that it has strengthened Islamabad’s global standing.
He claimed that Trump had “warmly and repeatedly embraced” Pakistan’s military leadership and hosted Asim Munir at the White House on multiple occasions, including what he described as an “unprecedented lunch.”
Ramesh further alleged that “the Pakistani establishment has developed a cosy relationship with President Trump’s immediate circle.”
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ramesh criticised his recent diplomatic outreach, particularly a visit to Israel shortly before reported US-Israel aerial strikes on Iran.
“Mr. Modi’s ill-advised visit to Israel, which ended just two days before the unprovoked US-Israel aerial assaults on Iran began, will go down in our political history as a singularly disastrous choice,” he said, arguing that the visit undermined India’s ability to act as a neutral mediator in the region.
Stepping up his attack on the government’s foreign policy approach, Ramesh added, “The Prime Minister’s ‘huglomacy’ stands brutally exposed. The country is being forced to pay a price for this.”
The remarks come at a time when India has traditionally maintained balanced ties across West Asia, including with Israel, Iran and key Arab nations, often positioning itself as a potential bridge in regional conflicts.
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