New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s America visit in third week of June turned out to be historic & highly successful but it also ruffled some feathers in India’s neighbourhood. Pakistan first tried to look nonchalant but as global media dived in and gave extensive coverage to PM Modi’s first state visit to the US, its anxiety and unease swelled and the desperation was evident in its statements.
Pakistan went on to decry the joint Indo-US statement, which referred to its soil being used for emanating terror. Pakistan govt, roiled up by the charges, strongly refuted the charges but the irony its own diaspora in United States is not convinced and has sided with PM Modi’s convincing & impressive visit to America.
Not just Pakistani diaspora but the sane & literate voices back home differ with Shahbaz Sharif’s govt stand. They believe that Modi’s visit to US has drawn global spotlight and has put India in a league of big powers, if not superpowers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to United States, from June 20 to June 24, was an event of celebration domestically as well globally, given the ‘rare honour’ bestowed by world’s most powerful democracy.
United States wooing India and rolling out the red carpet for Prime Minister, followed by some big-ticket defence pacts being signed between two nations made global headlines.
Pakistanis Acknowledge PM Modi’s Successful US Visit–The sane voices of the Pak society including the Pakistani diaspora in the US has termed PM Modi’s recent USA visit as historic and highly successful (1/5)
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The bonhomie between PM Modi & Joe Biden and their hug & cheers hogged the global headlines as the duo interacted multiple times. From welcoming PM Modi at White House, the US Congress & private dinner with the Bidens at the South lawns, the two leaders gave many opportunities to press people for good photo-op.
Pakistani govt may brush it aside as ‘routine steps’ of a foreign visit but its own diaspora saw it differently. A lot many influential Pakistani in US saw it as India taking centrestage and may be even leading the contours of its ties with America.
President Joe Biden’s banquet for PM Modi was seen as major yardstick of India’s growing stature & increasing might. As the banquet saw attendance of more than 400 CEOs & business tycoons, with most of them being NRIs, it was enough to unnerve even the American lawmakers. While the Bidens hosted Indian business tycoons along with Google, Apple, Microsoft CEOs, this came as huge statement and display of Indian soft power.
Before PM Modi’s visit to America, a couple of Congressmen had raised issue of human rights violations under Modi rule but their voice also got drowned out when the Prime Minister spoke from the podium of US Congress. While PM Modi addressed the joint sitting of Congress, the American lawmakers stood up many times to give him a standing ovation. All the allegations of human rights violations turned to be insignificant and the detractors failed to make their voices heard.
Such rousing reception & admiration for PM Modi prompted the Pak intelligentsia to acknowledge Indian Prime Minister’s highly successful visit to US. It said that Pakistan has a lot to learn & emulate from PM Modi’s charismatic appeal & leadership.
The biggest blow to Pakistan came when PM Modi & President Biden in a joint statement called out Islamabad to dissuade terror elements from using its territory for fomenting terror. In the joint statement, US & India denounced terrorism in all forms and called for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Pak-based LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad & Hizbul Mujahideen.
Pakistan’s government took strong exception to joint statement and even summoned US envoy to register its protest. It claimed that ‘one-sided & misleading’ claims were being spread against it.
Pak diaspora as well as intelligentsia regretted the joint statement, showing the country in bad light. They tried to return fire by leveling accusations against India but history shows that such denial of self will only backfire & save it from plummeting into ‘rogue state’. Rather than pinning blame on India for its failures, if Pakistan focuses on shutting down terror factories & tread a path of progress, it is Islamabad & its citizens that will benefit from it.
