Huge blow to Indian diplomacy: Congress on Trump-Munir lunch

The Congress on Thursday attacked the government after US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir for lunch saying it is a huge blow to Indian diplomacyCongress general secretary incharge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Field Marshal Asim Munir is not the Head of State or Head of government of Pakistan and is the Chief of Army Staff yet he gets invited by Trump for lunch and receives much praiseThis is the same man whose atrocious and inflammatory remarks formed the immediate backdrop to the brutal Pahalgam terror attacks orchestrated by the establishment over which he presides Ramesh said on XIt is a huge blow to Indian diplomacy and huglomacy too he said taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra ModiThe Congress has been taking swipes at Modi giving hugs to foreign heads of state during his meetings with them at international or bilateral engagements using the term huglomacy for itMeanwhile Trump has said the two very smart leaders of India and Pakistan decided not to continue a war that could have turned nuclear a first in weeks he did not claim credit for stopping hostilities between the two neighbouring nationsTrump made the remarks while speaking to the media in the Oval Office after hosting Munir for lunch at the White House on WednesdayTrump also said he was honoured to meet MunirWhen asked if Iran was discussed in his meeting with Munir Trump said Well they know Iran very well better than most and theyre not happy about anything Its not that theyre bad with Israel They know them both actually but they probably maybe they know Iran better but they see whats going on and he agreed with meThe reason I had him here I want to thank him for not going into the war ending the war And I want to thank as you know Prime Minister Modi just left a little while ago and were working on a trade deal with India Were working on a trade deal with Pakistan the president saidThey were both here but I was with Modi a few weeks ago He was here actually but now we speak to him And Im so happy that two smart people plus you know people on their staff too but two smart people two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war That could have been a nuclear war Those are two nuclear powers big ones big big nuclear powers and they decided that he saidThis is the first time in weeks that Trump did not take credit for stopping the military conflict after India launched Operation Sindoor and destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistancontrolled areas following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 livesSince May 10 when India and Pakistan decided to stop the military conflict Trump has repeatedly claimed on multiple occasions that he helped settle tensions between the two countries and that he told the nucleararmed South Asian neighbours that America would do a lot of trade with them if they stopped the conflictEarlier on Thursday with Trump repeating his persistent claim that he stopped a war between India and Pakistan hours after speaking with PM Modi and before meeting Munir the Congress claimed that he has deflated the hype created by Modis PR machinery and said the prime minister must refute the claims made by the American leader publicly reported PTICongress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera asked whether the word of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs is now so weak that they cant even clearly present Indias position in a halfhour call with the US PresidentKheras remarks came after Modi spoke with Trump and set the record straight that India had paused strikes on Pakistan during Operation Sindoor following a request from Islamabad and not due to mediation or a trade deal offer by the USIn his 35minute phone call with Trump on Tuesday Modi briefed the US President on Operation Sindoor and made it clear that it has never accepted any thirdparty mediation and will never accept it in the future according to Foreign Secretary Vikram MisriHours after his phone conversation with Modi Trump repeated his claim that he stopped a war between India and PakistanIn a post on X Khera quoted Trump I stopped the war I spoke to Prime Minister Modi last night Were going to sign a trade deal very soonOnce again Donald Trump has deflated the hype created by Modi jis PR machinery What we were told through the Foreign Secretary about the contents of a telephone conversation has been publicly contradicted by Trump the Congress leader saidIs the word of Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs now so weak that they cant even clearly present Indias position in a halfhour call with the US President he askedWhen Trump hyphenated India and Pakistan the government stayed silent It was the opposition that objected Khera saidNow Trump has hyphenated Modi and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir and again the government remains mute But the opposition will never accept this insult to the office of Indias prime minister he saidTrump is making these claims himself neither through officials nor in private phone calls hes making them repeatedly publicly Khera pointed outIt is the prime minister who must refute these claims and he must do so publicly he assertedWith inputs from PTI