‘US invite to Pak Army Chief a challenge to India’s diplomacy, needs collective response: Congress

The Opposition Congress on Thursday cautioned the Centre that the United States’ invite to Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir for the US Army Day is both a “warning and a challenge” to India’s diplomacy, stressing the country needs to have a collective response.

Reiterating Congress’ all-party meeting demand, senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh highlighted the “bizarre” statement of US Central Command’s head General Michael Kurilla, who called Pakistan a “phenomenal partner’ in counter terrorism.

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“Yesterday, Indian diplomacy, India itself received three huge setbacks at the hands of the United States. It raises serious questions about the US policy. It’s a warning, it’s a challenge. First setback – US Central Command’s head, General Michael Kurilla, uses the word ‘phenomenal partner’ in counter-terrorism for Pakistan. This is a bizarre statement from the top American General,” said senior Congress MP Jairam Ramesh in his post on X.

The Congress MP questioned the intention of the US behind the special invitation to Munir, whose Kashmir statement was linked directly to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

“Asim Munir, whose statements and the Pahalgam terror attacks are directly linked to each other, gets a special invitation for the US Army Day. What is the US up to?” he posted.

He further stated that the country needs to have a collective response to these challenges and that will come only through all-party meetings and Parliament sessions.

“These are challenges. We have to sit together. We have to have a collective response, a collective will. How is that coming about? It will come only through all-party meetings. It will come only through the Parliament sessions. I mean the prime minister should stop playing politics, start doing governance, and take opposition parties, not individuals – the anchor of our system is political parties, not individuals. Take political parties and their leaders into confidence,” said the Congress leader.

And the third setback, he claimed, was the US State Department spokesperson once again reiterating that President Trump brought about engagement between India and Pakistan.

“These are three huge setbacks for our diplomacy; as I said, they are a warning and a challenge—the Prime Minister, all-powerful, all-present, omnipotent, omnipresent – he must call an all-party meeting. He has met all the MPs who have gone on delegations; he should meet the leaders of opposition parties,” he added.