New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Congress General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday criticised the Centre’s foreign policy in the wake of the two-week ceasefire agreement involving the US, Israel and Iran in West Asia, arguing that Pakistan’s reported role “undermines” India’s long-standing strategy of diplomatically isolating Islamabad over terrorism.

In a post on X, made hours after the ceasefire announcement, Ramesh said, “The entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other. The conflict had begun on Feb 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran.”

He further linked the developments to India’s diplomatic positioning, stating that the hostilities began shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, which he claimed, “diminished India’s global stature and standing”.

Taking aim at the government’s stance on the conflict, he asserted that the Prime Minister “said nothing about Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.

Referring to Islamabad’s alleged involvement in facilitating the ceasefire, Ramesh said, “The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi’s highly personalised diplomacy.”

Drawing a comparison with the previous UPA government led by Manmohan Singh, the Congress leader argued that the current approach has not succeeded in isolating Pakistan globally.

“The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in J&K and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded — unlike what Dr Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks. That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Mr Modi’s strategy of engagement and narrative management,” he said.

Ramesh also questioned the circumstances surrounding the halt of India’s Operation Sindoor in May 2025, asking why the government had not provided a clear explanation.

He said the operation was “suddenly and abruptly halted” on May 10, 2025, adding that US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Trump has on multiple occasions asserted that he brokered a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, though New Delhi has consistently maintained that no third party was involved and that Islamabad itself had requested cessation of hostilities.

–IANS

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