In a spectacle that exposed not just diplomatic hypocrisy but also the slow unravelling of US hegemony, the US President Donald Trump recently held a closed-door meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir at the White House. The official version was that Munir was “invited.” But every shred of context points to something else: this was a summons, a dressing-down by a rattled Washington, terrified that its worst nightmare—an Indian missile striking near Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile—had almost come true. The “Nur Khan” airbase strike, part of India’s sharp, coordinated four-day retaliation following the Pahalgam terror attack, wasn’t just about busting terror networks. According to credible chatter online, India’s missile precision may have caused a radiation scare because that base lies dangerously close to Pakistan’s nuclear storage zones. And here’s the kicker: those nukes aren’t entirely Pakistan’s. A fair chunk of it reportedly belongs to the United States. So, let’s call a spade a spade. The so-called “invite” to Gen. Munir wasn’t a show of respect. It was a panicked call from Washington to a reckless handler of their weapons. The US had every reason to haul Munir in—not to pat his back, but to yank his collar and ask: “What the hell are you doing?” And just before this “summons,” the Indian diplomatic machinery outfoxed everyone. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had missed a bilateral with Trump at the G7 summit due to the latter’s abrupt return to Washington, made a timely and calculated 35-minute phone call. The message to Trump was blunt, and the Ministry of External Affairs made sure it was public: India’s counter-offensive was triggered only after Pakistan’s own DGMO requested a ceasefire. Not Trump. Not the US. So much for Trump’s repeated, self-aggrandizing claims that he “stopped the war” between India and Pakistan. Modi’s firm clarification was a tight diplomatic slap. And to further underline who’s boss in the Indo-US relationship now, Modi declined Trump’s stopover invitation and instead invited him to India. That’s the confidence of New India—no begging, no bending. This is not the India of Nehruvian submission or Manmohan Singh’s stooped shoulders before George Bush. This is Modi’s India. Equal footing or no footing.
But what explains Trump’s sudden pivot toward Pakistan? His track record speaks for itself. Much like a dog’s tail, Trump’s foreign policy instincts are impossible to straighten. One moment, he claims to fight “liberal deep-state destabilizers,” and the next, he’s allegedly dabbling in crypto networks linked to Pakistan. The truth is, Trump’s opportunism has reached comical proportions. He forgets that India is no banana republic. Modi is not some puppet to be patted or prodded at will. Meanwhile, India’s foreign policy, helmed by S. Jaishankar, has evolved into a masterclass in strategic assertion. The Congress party may whine and twist narratives, but the contrast is stark. While Congress leaders once prostrated before Washington, today’s leadership talks eye to eye, demands clarity, and refuses third-party meddling in regional affairs. That’s why the Modi-Trump phone call matters—it wasn’t just a conversation; it was a command. Back to the Trump-Munir episode. If Congress sees it as India being “humiliated,” it must be wilfully blind. In truth, it was Trump and Munir squirming under pressure. The US’s security architecture failed to foresee or prevent India’s precision strikes near its clandestine nuclear assets in Pakistan. What happened to the American surveillance systems and radiation alarms? Either they failed or they were never in place. Either way, Trump had reason to panic. And if the US still believes it can play both sides—funding rogue terror-sheltering regimes like Pakistan while preaching “democratic stability”—it’s in for a rude shock. Modi has already signalled his intent: India will balance its power with real allies, not unreliable, double-faced “superpowers.” Trump may bark, but India will walk its path. If he dares to deport Indian-Americans or turn hostile, so be it. India gains more from their return than the US ever did. That’s the new doctrine—unapologetic, uncompromising, and utterly sovereign. The leash is off. The tail can wag elsewhere.
