Absent any direct dealings with Pakistan, the US insidiously becomes our intermediary | The Indian Express

Absent any direct dealings with Pakistan, the US insidiously becomes our intermediary | The Indian Express

Written by Mani Shankar Aiyar |Updated: July 25, 2019 9:02:14 am

The writer is a former Union minister

Absent any direct dealings with Pakistan, the US insidiously becomes our intermediary

Modi has been lauding to the skies the US involvement at every crucial turn in Indo-Pak relations resulting in Trump thinking Modi is leading him up to finding a solution to a problem that “has been going on for many, many years”.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Oval Office of the White House (AP Photo)

Would Donald Trump have really made it up? True, the man is a misguided missile but he has made it to president of the United States and you don’t get there unless you have something out of the ordinary about you. He prides himself on being a “deal-maker”. And he was making the defining deal of his presidency when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was visiting with him. The context was getting the US out of the Afghan imbroglio. That could only happen by inveigling the Taliban to the negotiating table. For that, Pakistan’s whole-hearted cooperation is required.