New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at the Modi government over reports that Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir would be having lunch with US President Donald Trump, and said Indian diplomacy is being “shattered” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “totally silent”.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, also said President Trump himself has “trumpeted” 14 times that he brought about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, meaning he ended Operation Sindoor.
“Field Marshal Asim Munir, the man whose inflammatory, incendiary and provocative remarks were linked directly to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attacks, is having lunch today with President Trump in the White House,” Ramesh said.
The April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 22 people, came a week after General Asim Munir sparked a row when he said Kashmir is Islamabad’s ‘jugular vein.’ The remark evoked a strong objection from New Delhi.
“Our stance is absolutely clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle,” General Munir said in Islamabad while addressing the Overseas Pakistani Convention on April 16.
Ramesh said President Trump himself has “trumpeted” 14 times that he brought about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, meaning he ended Operation Sindoor.
“Is this why President Trump abandoned the G7 Summit a day early, denying Mr. Narendra Modi a ‘huge hug” he asked.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump, which lasted approximately 35 minutes.
Misri said that PM Modi briefed President Trump about Operation Sindoor. PM Modi clarified that no topics related to trade were discussed in connection with Operation Sindoor, Misri said.
PM Modi’s assertion comes after Trump’s repeated assertions that he played a key role in mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire understanding after four days of military actions in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack
“Gen. Michael Kurilla, the US Central Command Chief, calls Pakistan a ‘phenomenal’ partner in counter-terrorism operations. This is triple jhatka to Howdy Modi by Namaste Trump!” the Congress leader said.
The Congress last week said the US is constantly making statements that can only be interpreted as hyphenating India and Pakistan. It stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should leave aside his “stubbornness” to call an all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament.
“Indian diplomacy is being shattered, and the PM is silent. And tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of his (in)famous clean chit to China,” Ramesh said.
