On May 10, US President Donald Trump announced through his X handle a ceasefire between India and Pakistan effective 5 pm IST. It was apparently after Pakistan had cried on his shoulders and played the victim card to the hilt.

Never the one to pass up an opportunity for limelight and media Arclight, Trump used the opportunity to bail out the US client state which Pakistan is with a $1 billion loan. IMF loans come with a list of conditionalities including privatisation, global tender for major government contractors, downsizing of government departments, etc.

One wonders if the impugned loan was hemmed in by the condition that it will not be diverted for military use including buying arms and ammunition. It is common knowledge that the US-based manufacturers and contractors normally benefit from such conditionalities. Be that as it may.

Whatever the contours of the ceasefire, the entire world knows that one doesn’t trust Pakistan any more than he trusts a rattlesnake except when he has the upper hand like China and the US have had for a long time in their relationship with Pakistan. Trump’s hyphenating India with Pakistan is not new. That the US has bases in........

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