On Thursday, the Congress party criticized the government after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s Army Chief, Asim Munir, for lunch. Congress called this a “huge blow” to India’s diplomacy.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out that Asim Munir isn’t Pakistan’s head of state or government but the army chief — yet Trump still invited him for lunch and praised him. Ramesh reminded everyone that Munir had made harsh statements before the deadly Pahalgam terror attacks.
He also took a jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling this a setback for Indian diplomacy — or as Congress jokingly calls it, “huglomacy,” referring to Modi’s tendency to give “hugs” to foreign leaders during meetings. Meanwhile, Trump spoke after the lunch meeting, saying both India and Pakistan’s leaders are smart for deciding not to continue a war that could have turned nuclear. He didn’t claim credit for stopping the conflict this time.
Trump said he was honored to meet Munir and hinted that the two countries are working on trade deals. When asked about Iran, Trump said Pakistan knows Iran well and isn’t happy about what’s going on.
Trump added that he thanked Munir for avoiding war and mentioned that Modi had just left the White House. He said both countries’ leaders wisely decided to avoid further conflict, which was a relief since they are both nuclear powers. This is notable because, in the past weeks, Trump has repeatedly claimed he helped stop the fighting between India and Pakistan, but now he didn’t take credit.
On the same day, Congress accused Prime Minister Modi of not publicly denying Trump’s claims that he stopped the war. Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned if Modi and India’s Foreign Ministry are so weak that they couldn’t clearly explain India’s position in a phone call with Trump.
Modi had told Trump during their call that India paused strikes on Pakistan after a request from Islamabad — not because of any U.S. mediation or trade deal offer, according to India’s Foreign Secretary.
But hours later, Trump repeated that he stopped the war and talked about a trade deal. Khera said this contradicts what Modi and the Foreign Secretary said. He asked if Modi’s word is now so weak that it can be publicly challenged by the U.S. President.
He also criticized the government for staying silent when Trump lumped India and Pakistan together but said the opposition will not accept disrespect towards India’s Prime Minister now that Trump has connected Modi with Pakistan’s army chief. Khera stressed that Trump is making these claims openly, not quietly or through officials, and it’s Modi’s responsibility to publicly reject these statements.
