The Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has arrived on a visit to the US to meet President Donald Trump. Khan had managed to wrangle an invitation to visit Washington by making use of the good offices of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who has is a close associate of Mr. Kushner, the son in law of the president.
The visit aimed to reset the ties with the United States which had gone sour after Trump took over. Trump had accused Pakistan of supporting the Hakkani faction in Afghanistan. Probably there has been a change of thinking in Washington, and now the United States would like to use Pakistan in finding a solution to the problem in Afghanistan.
More precisely how America can extricate itself and 12,000 troops from the war-torn nation. The Americans would like a political solution so that they can withdraw from Afghanistan and save their face.
Afghanistan and the USA
Despite more than a decade and a half, the US armed forces have failed in Afghanistan. Trump does not want another Vietnam in Afghanistan. The Pakistan Prime Minister was overjoyed when during a joint meeting Donald Trump made the comment which no American president had made earlier. It was like pulling a rabbit from the hat. He offered to act as a mediator to solve the Kashmir problem. Donald Trump claimed that during his last meeting with Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister had requested Trump to use his good offices to solve the Kashmir problem.
Imran Khan promptly thanked the president and said that a billion people would be delighted in case the American president meditated in the Kashmir problem and solved it. The Hindu has reported that this statement signaled a shift in the long-standing policy of the USA to support bilateral contacts.
Offer of meditation
Donald Trump is known to make statements of the cuff, and the Washinton Post has reported that Trump has made 10,796 false statements in his 869 days in office.
He has the propensity to lie very frequently. The Indian government within a short time of the claim, announced that Narendra Modi has made no such request to the American president.
The BBC has reported that Mr Jaishankar, the Indian Foreign Minister in both houses of parliament reiterated that no such request and been made to the American president and went on to add that as per the Shimla agreement of 1972, the only way forward was bilateral talks between India and Pakistan and there was no place for a third person or meditator.
After this statement, Donald Trump has not said anything further. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Narendra Modi will make such a request to the American president. On the other hand, we have information that the American president has the propensity to make-believe and say lies to buttress his points.
No request to Donald Trump to act as a meditator on the Kashmir could have been made as India does not consider Kashmir to be disputed territory and claims it's an integral part of the Indian Union. Pakistan claims the entire Kashmir based on the state being a Muslim majority state. The two countries have fought three Wars over Kashmir and Pakistan has generally failed in its objective to capture the Kashmir Valley
United States-Pakistan relations are at a low ebb, and Donald Trump had condemned Pakistan as a source of terror.
He had also curtailed military supplies and assistance to Pakistan. It appears that there is a change in thinking in the United States and wants to reset its relationship with this Muslim state.
Trump
Donald Trump is a man with fixed ideas, and he generally weaves stories to support his ideas. He also has the propensity to lie and make outrageous statements. This is well known, but obviously, there is some reason for the American President to make this statement. One of these could be to pressurize India on the trade deficit with America and secondly to convey his displeasure to India because the Indian government has gone in for the S400, the Russian Missile system contrary to American policy.
At that time, Trump had told that in case the Indians went ahead with the purchase of the Missile system, they would have to pay the consequences.
The Pakistan economy is in Doldrums despite donation from Saudi Arabia and loan from IMF as well as generous help from China. The economy is still in the red, and it is important for Pakistan to reset its relationship with the United States. This is the reason that Imran Khan wrangled an invitation to Washington. He has invited the US President to visit Pakistan, and the American president has accepted this offer. The Indian government will be watching the moves of Donald Trump with alacrity because Donald Trump, who recently aborted an air attack on Iran has not yet accepted an invitation to visit India.
America's hope
The Americans want India as an ally power to fight China. Americans are wary of the military might of China and would like India to help them contain the Red Dragon. The Indian Prime Minister Modi is not playing ball, and he is trying his best to mend the relationship with China with the result that China is now the largest trading partner of India. India and China do have problems, but the border has been quiet for the last 57 years after the 1962 border war.
Imran Khan is now heading back home, but a surprise of this visit was that the chief of the army staff general Bajwa also accompanied Imran Khan. This will certainly raise eyebrows and shows that Imran Khan is not master of his self and he has to rely on the Pakistan army for governance.
Last word
Donald Trump, by making this statement, has set the cat among the pigeons, and it will be interesting to watch what will be the strategy of the Indian Government. One will have to wait and watch how things pan out in the future.
