PM diplomacy has isolated Pak
Observers feel that while India is seen globally now as a de- facto US ally, the gains of being on the right side of the world’s sole superpower will work towards New Delhi’s advantage
In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Afghanistan and the inauguration of the Salma Dam in Herat there, the assessment in South Block is that India has succeeded in getting the Afghan government out of the Pakistani orbit of influence, forging what is seen as an emerging Indo- Afghan-Iranian axis and is all set to further strengthen its already- close ties with the United States. Mr Modi’s whirlwind diplomacy has caused jitters in Islamabad and has further isolated Pakistan which now has only China as its main backer, the government sources said. The sources further said Afghanistan appears to have seen through Pakistan’s sinister gameplan of continuing to promote the Afghan Taliban and exporting terrorism.
On Sunday, India also thanked Afghanistan for conferring the country’s highest civilian honour — the Amir Amanullah Khan award — on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit there. “It’s a matter of great honour for India that the Indian Prime Minister has been conferred with the highest ever civilian award by the Afghan government. It is an honour not only for India’s Prime
Minister, but for the whole country for which we are grateful to the government of Afghanistan,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said.
India’s serious push for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and China’s attempts to block it has also exposed the Beijing- Islamabad nexus globally. Observers feel that while India is seen globally now as a defacto US ally, the gains of being on the right side of the world’s sole superpower will work towards New Delhi’s advantage.
The recent visit to Iran, on which western sanctions were recently lifted, and the Chabahar agreement appears to have cemented what is being seen as an emerging and formidable India- Iran-Afghanistan axis and the presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Tehran during PM Modi’s recent visit to Tehran has strengthened that belief.