From Standoff to Setback: Modi's Policies and India's Diplomatic Challenges

Express Tribune

31-05-2025

Modi says water once flowing out of India will now be retained and used domestically for India's interests. PHOTO: FILE
Post Pak-India clashes scenario has once again established the fact that non resolution of Kashmir, water and terrorism issues would continue to hinder peace in the South Asian Region.
Besides reestablishing Pakistan's conventional deterrence Pak-India standoff helped in revival of the Kashmir issue on the international stage, which served as a blow to India's diplomatic standing.
Narendra Modi's wrong policies have not only led to disappointment for India diplomatically, moreover, his policy of bilateralism on Kashmir has suffered a significant setback. The Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) in its report titled 'Sixteen hours that reshaped South Asia' has termed Modi's flawed policies the main reason of severe blow to India's interests since India's defeat in 1962 war against China.
Human history is replete with wounds inflicted by humans on other humans, but it is also true that societies, as they traverse the stages of cultural evolution, gradually begin to shed their animalistic tendencies. However, our misfortune is that we have a nation living in our neighborhood that still adheres to the philosophy of Machiavellian deceit and barbarism, as embodied by its political deity Chanakya, and its foreign policy is founded on the same philosophy.
However, there is another side to the picture. The law of nature dictates that anything built on deceitful thinking will eventually decline. Not long ago, India had complete influence over all the small countries in the region, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal, and its voice was paramount in these countries. But when India's true face was exposed, the world witnessed how India's puppet regime, in the form of Sheikh Hasina Wajed, met its ignominious end.
To harm Pakistan's existence, India invested heavily in Afghanistan, establishing centers of terrorism and using its proxies to target CPEC, in an attempt to deprive the region of developmental progress. India is also working on a plan to eliminate China's presence in Pakistan and the Arabian Sea region.
Despite India's continuous efforts to create differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan, recent diplomatic developments have strengthened ties between the two brotherly nations. China, emerging as a reliable regional partner, has further reinforced this trilateral alliance with a commitment to economic cooperation and mutual security.
Afghanistan's formal inclusion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) marks a new era, which has thwarted India's destructive designs. India's fabricated narratives have failed to isolate Pakistan, which has consistently demonstrated responsibility, restraint, and patience, as evident in the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
While India continues to engage in provocations, Pakistan has shown utmost responsibility. In contrast, the region, home to two billion people, might become a victim of Modi's political vendetta and obsession – this is not leadership but preparation for collective destruction.