NEW DELHI, Mar 25: India has mocked Pakistan’s attempt at mediation in the West Asia war, using the strongest of languages to refer to Islamabad as it seeks a role in global diplomacy.
At an all-party meeting in Delhi on Wednesday evening, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar derided Pakistan as a “dalal (broker) nation.” “India will not act as a middleman and dalal (broker) nation like Pakistan,” a member present at the meeting recalled the minister as saying.
Pakistan has offered to mediate between Washington and Tehran to end the ongoing war, and speculations of active backchannel diplomacy have intensified after US President Donald Trump shared a post by Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif expressing his eagerness to facilitate a resolution.
“Such moves are driven by bilateral dynamics between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistan has been doing this since 1981,” sources said pointing to the ‘interests section’ that Pakistan had been operating at its US embassy to facilitate communication between Washington and Islamabad.
Defending its handling of the West Asia crisis, the government rejected criticism over alleged inaction and policy ambiguity, and stated that India has been engaged through statements, diplomatic outreach, and communication with all stakeholders, they added.
The government also pointed out that the US sanctions on Iran have been in place for over 15 years, and that did not deter India from buying Iranian oil to secure its energy needs, they recalled. An assurance followed that there is nothing to worry over energy security and that LPG supplies are stabilising, sources said. It was highlighted at the meeting that a significant portion of India’s crude imports come from Russia, they added, underlining a pragmatic and diversified energy strategy.
The government emphasised that the US remains India’s largest business partner and highlighted the importance of Israel as a key technological and strategic partner, sources said. It reiterated that India maintains balanced relations across the West Asia including continued engagement with Iran, while safeguarding national interests, they added.
India continues to be part of the Non-Aligned Movement, sources said citing the government, while acknowledging that differing positions by Iran and the UAE have made a unified stance difficult in the BRICS grouping. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju later said the government had answered all questions that were raised at the all-party meeting, and that everyone said that they stand united.
(Manas Dasgupta)