No Friends Here

President Donald Trump’s remarks that there have always been tensions between India and Pakistan and the two countries will figure it out between themselves “one way or the other” sends a very clear message to India which, at present, is being goaded, by internal political pressure, to contemplate armed retaliation against its arch rival Pakistan over the recent terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

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“I am very close to India and I'm very close to Pakistan, as you know. And they've had that fight for 1,000 years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for 1,000 years, probably longer than that. And it was a bad one yesterday, though, that was a bad one. Over 30 people,” Trump said during a press gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Rome. This very assertion that the US is equally close to both India and Pakistan lays bare the apparent failure of our foreign affairs apparatus, irrespec-tive of the tall claims to the contrary and the constant declaration by India’s national television media that the PoTUS is a “dear friend” of our Prime Minister. Moreover, three months into his presidency, Trump has yet to appoint an ambassador to India, indicating the low priority this country holds on his agenda.