NEW DELHI: Congress hit out at the BJP-led central government on Monday over Pakistan holding US-Iran talks, terming it a “substantial setback for Mr Modi’s foreign policy”. Citing foreign minister S Jaishankar’s “dalal (broker or middleman)” remark for Pakistan, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the same nation was set to host the second round of US-Iran talks on Tuesday.”It is a monumental setback for Mr. Modi’s foreign policy. India needs a complete overhaul of its diplomatic engagement strategy and tactics—which Mr. Modi is simply incapable of doing,” he said in a post on X.”The ‘dalal’ country, as the erudite and always nattily dressed External Affairs Minister described it, is reportedly hosting the second round of US-Iran peace talks today. After the completion of the first round of these talks on April 12th, Pakistan borrowed $6 billion from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to repay a $3.5 billion loan taken from the UAE and to retire a $1.43 billion tranche of Eurobonds,” he added. Highlighting the importance of Pakisan’s diplomatic role in the current situation, Ramesh said that “Prime Minister Modi’s regional and global engagement and narrative management have failed to isolate Pakistan”.”Pakistan’s economy is clearly in dire straits and it depends on largesse given to it by friendly countries. But it is for now playing a pivotal diplomatic role after having given sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists, bombing drug rehabilitation centres in Afghanistan, and most recently orchestrating the Pahalgam terror attack a year ago,” he said. “It is abundantly clear that the substance and style of Prime Minister Modi’s regional and global engagement and narrative management have failed to isolate Pakistan which has received a whole new branding – different from what Dr. Manmohan Singh had been able to achieve after the terror attacks in Mumbai in Nov 2008,” he added.Talking about US President Donald Trump’s fondness for Pakistan army chief Asim Munir, the Congress leader said, “That Field Marshal Asim Munir – whose provocative and inflammatory remarks provided the oxygen for the Pahalgam terror attack – has become such a huge favourite of President Trump is a particularly severe setback for India. That the Field Marshal and his colleagues seem to have succeeded in managing the Trump ecosystem of family and associates much better than India is obvious.”Munir spoke to Trump regarding the upcoming talks and conveyed that the blockade of Strait of Hormuz was a “hurdle” in talks. Iran has said that it will not attend the talks.Trump said that he would “consider” Munir’s advice, Reuters reported citing Pakistani security source.
