Pakistan-China nexus poses major challenge for India: Congress

The Congress on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy, arguing that Pakistan appears to have regained regional and global influence and warning that its growing strategic alignment with China poses a serious geopolitical challenge for India.

Reacting to reports that the United States and Iran are set to sign a peace agreement in Geneva on 19 June, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh welcomed the development but used the occasion to question both the government's economic management and its foreign policy approach.

"The news that the US and Iran will be signing an agreement to halt hostilities in West Asia is to be welcomed," Ramesh said in a post on X, adding that there was "universal hope" that all parties, including Israel, would abide by the accord and work towards a more permanent peace.

While acknowledging that the unrestricted reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would provide significant relief to India by easing concerns over energy supplies, Ramesh argued that the country's economic challenges run much deeper.

"The structural problems facing the Indian economy will not disappear overnight," he said, pointing to sustained pressure on the rupee, a widening gap between the demand and supply of dollars, and sluggish private investment.

According to the Congress leader, weak consumer demand, stagnant real wages, rising imports from China and an uncertain investment climate have contributed to the economic slowdown.

"This is the result of sluggish growth in demand, stagnation in real wages, failure to check the dumping of imports from China, and unchecked powers given to tax authorities and investigative agencies," he said.

Ramesh also raised concerns over India's strategic position in the region, claiming that Pakistan had managed to break out of the diplomatic isolation imposed after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

"Pakistan, which had been successfully isolated by India after the Mumbai attacks, now seems to have acquired a new regional and global influence," he said.

"This, coupled with China's deep embedding in Pakistan's strategic apparatus, poses a formidable geopolitical challenge for India's foreign policy."

The Congress leader further criticised what he described as the Modi government's perceived tilt towards Israel, saying India's national interests required a more balanced approach in West Asia.

"It is too much to expect Mr Modi to rethink his blind devotion and unconditional support to Israel. But humanitarian considerations and long-standing commitments apart, our national interest demands greater balance than Mr Modi has shown," Ramesh said.

His remarks came after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Washington and Tehran had reached a peace deal following intensive negotiations and that a formal signing ceremony would take place in Switzerland on 19 June.

Sharif said both sides had agreed to the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon," and thanked Qatar for its mediation efforts in securing the breakthrough.

The proposed agreement follows months of conflict that began after US and Israeli military strikes on Iran earlier this year, a campaign that resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, senior security officials and top military commanders.

With a US-Iran accord now appearing within reach, the Congress has sought to shift attention to what it describes as India's economic vulnerabilities and evolving geopolitical challenges, urging the government to recalibrate both its foreign policy and economic strategy in an increasingly volatile global environment.

With PTI inputs