US President Donald Trump’s loose and uninformed remarks in the aftermath of India’s military action against Pakistan following the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 have cast a shadow over India-US ties.

Trump makes factually incorrect remarks on many international issues and India is not a unique target. It may be wise to ignore his erratic comments, especially as he frequently contradicts himself, but it is not always possible to do so as the public fallout of his capricious utterances has to be managed.

Many remarks by Trump have irked India. His urge to project himself as a peacemaker made him announce a ceasefire between India and Pakistan even before the concerned parties could do so. This slighted India politically by creating an impression that a ceasefire had been forced on New Delhi, whereas India’s retaliatory strategy had de-escalation built into it.

India attacked only terrorist hubs in Pakistan and specifically declared that the Pakistani military was not being targeted, placing the onus of escalation on Islamabad.

Pakistan reacted by attacking civilian villages on the border and Indian military targets, to which India responded strongly. Having done that, India had no interest in prolonging the conflict if Pakistan was prepared to de-escalate.

India had already achieved its major objective of conducting military operations below the nuclear threshold even in the heartland of Pakistan. This was a powerful message to Pakistan that India will no longer tolerate its abetment of terrorism against India.

For Pakistan there was no untoward message in the US first announcing a ceasefire because it has always sought American intervention in India-Pakistan affairs. Pakistan has benefited from US protection for decades. It has willingly done Washington’s bidding for decades both to benefit from US military and financial aid and as an insurance against India, whose ties with the US have always been difficult.

Pakistan supported jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and its prime minister was summoned to travel to Washington DC during the 1999 Kargil conflict to be warned against violating the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan had to bear the humiliation of the US eliminating Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil without being informed of the........

© RT.com