India’s diplomacy under scrutiny as Pakistan takes centre stage in Middle East war

Pakistan's role as a mediator between the United States and
Iran, two of the three principal rivals in the Middle East war, has prompted
India's main opposition Congress to take a jibe at India's Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
A day after reports emerged about
the ceasefire between the US and Iran and that Islamabad would host talks
between the two warring sides, Congress Chief Spokesperson Jairam Ramesh on
Tuesday (7 April) alleged in a social media post that Pakistan's emergence as a
peace broker in the Middle East war was the "failure" of Modi's
"personalised diplomacy", which "stands thoroughly
exposed".
By welcoming the ceasefire between
the US and Iran, India, in its first formal statement, showed maturity as a
global power and did not allow itself to be distracted by the domestic
opposition into a war of words, ignoring the larger picture of peace and
regional stability.
Responding to the opposition's suggestions that Pakistan
has scored diplomatically by playing the role of mediator, Jaishankar was
quoted as having pointed out at the all-party meeting last month that India is
not a "dalal" nation and that Pakistan is an old hand at working its
way into conflicts.
The next day, the "dalal
nation" remark hit the headlines.
Jaishankar also reportedly recalled
at the meeting that Pakistan was instrumental in the rapprochement between
China and the US in 1971, when Washington, under president Richard Nixon and
secretary of State Henry Kissinger, threw its lot in with Islamabad during the
Bangladesh Liberation War.
Pakistan also played the role of
intermediary when relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia came under strain in
the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Historically, Pakistan served as a US base to train and arm Afghan mujahideen
fighting Soviet troops in the 1980s and was also part of the Cold War military
alliances Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) and Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization (SEATO).
It is Pakistan's geographical
position as a frontline country that the US found to be a strategic asset for
use against the Soviet army's presence in Afghanistan by arming and training
the Afghan mujahideen.
In the past, Pakistan has remained
closely aligned with US strategic interests. However, the US withdrawal from
Afghanistan reduced Islamabad's importance to Washington.
Pakistan shares a 900km border with
Iran, so any instability there directly affects its security and economy. With
nearly 40 million Shias — the largest population outside Iran — Pakistan also has
cultural and sectarian links with Tehran.
Analysts say Pakistan may once
again see value in renewed US involvement in Afghanistan, especially after
recent tensions across the Durand Line and improving ties between Kabul and New
Delhi.
How India became the broker for US and Iran
Pakistan's renewed role in US
strategic thinking marks a major shift. During his first term, Donald Trump had
sharply criticised Pakistan for offering "lies and deceit" despite
years of US support.
But according to The Wall Street
Journal, that view has partly changed as Pakistan aligned itself with
Washington's current priorities.
The Wall Street Journal says a key
reason for Pakistan's mediation role is its success in reaching Trump's inner
circle.
The newspaper reported that Pakistan
army chief Asim Munir played an important role by directly engaging with people
close to Trump and building personal ties.
These ties were not only political
but also business-related. One example was a stablecoin deal involving a firm
linked to Steve Witkoff's family and the Pakistani government.
Pakistan also arranged high-level
meetings in Islamabad for Trump-linked figures, giving them full state-style
treatment, according to WSJ.
The view in New Delhi is that
Pakistan used its White House access since the crypto deals in April to enter
Trump's inner circle.
Pakistan also benefited from the
lack of direct communication between the US and Iran.
Trump himself has spoken favourably
about Munir, calling him a "tough man" and a "serious
fighter". Such public remarks indicate a level of personal rapport that
Pakistan appears to have carefully cultivated as part of its broader diplomatic
strategy, according to WSJ.
Political observers say Islamabad
also made symbolic gestures that resonated with Trump. Among them was
nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in easing tensions
between India and Pakistan in May last year, a claim disputed by New Delhi.
Senior Indian opposition politician
Shashi Tharoor, in an article published today in The Indian Express, said,
"Celebrating a neighbour's successful mediation does not diminish India's
standing. To sneer at it would signal to the world that India's foreign policy
is driven by spite rather than by substance."
Tharoor said, "India must
watch the Pakistani initiative with the keen eye of an interested neighbour.
There is no strategic benefit in rooting for the failure of a peace
process."
According to the former UN
under-secretary-general Kofi Annan, "Even if Pakistan's mediation is a
'diplomatic fig leaf rather than the real initiator', India must navigate this
development with a combination of strategic restraint and regional
responsibility.
Manoj K Channan, a former army
officer and defence analyst, wrote in an article in The Indian Express that
"Pakistan, with its deep ties to Tehran and its position as a Sunni
counterweight to Shia Iran, positioned itself as the honest broker. While
superpowers postured, Rawalpindi's diplomats quietly shuttled, leveraging
backchannels honed over decades of Afghan mediation."
"In a masterclass of
statesmanship, Islamabad dragged the US and Iran to the negotiating table,
birthing a 10-point peace plan that POTUS has now endorsed. This isn't
altruism; it's realpolitik at its finest," Channan said.
There is concern in New Delhi that
Pakistan, which India has tried to isolate diplomatically over the issue of
cross-border terrorism, has found a prominent space in international diplomatic
power corridors by mediating between the US and Iran.
"If US-Iran talks proceed and
there is progress down that very tricky road, involving our allies, it will be
hard for India to isolate and paint Pakistan as the villain, given our energy
needs and our dependence on the region," the newspaper quoted a former
diplomat who has served in the Gulf as saying.
Apparently not willing to be
squeezed out of the picture, India has sent Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to
Washington, and Jaishankar himself will travel to the UAE on 11-12 April.
















