Entertainment
Modi’s China ploy
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been having quite a rocky ride of late. Of course, if one were to go purely by the way much of the mainstream India media (pejoratively called “Godi media” by many non-BJP supporters in India) Modi can still do no wrong.
However, the situation for him on social media, in particular, where the BJP Troll Army used to hold sway till not too long ago, seems to have changed considerably.
Several things have contributed to this, and all of these have given rise to very popular memes. The first relates to Operation Sindoor and how the Indians basically ran to the US and asked it to request Pakistan for a ceasefire. The US obliged, and US President Trump deftly played the trade deal card and got both sides to stop.
However, soon after relations between India and the US, specifically between Modi and Trump, soured, with the former refusing to publicly acknowledge any American role in the ceasefire.
In the weeks that have followed, Trump has said on record that he was the one who stopped the war, which he has repeated could have gone nuclear — a war in which between five to seven jets were shot down (he has used the figure of five, six and most recently seven) after he persuaded both countries to end it and in return the US would offer them a trade deal.
Pakistan played its cards deftly, with its army chief even being invited to a one-on-one lunch by the most powerful man in the world, to getting a relatively low tariff of 19% — compared to India’s at 50%. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also followed this up by approving investment in Pakistan, and in particular, a $410 million financing for the Reko Diq project.
The ADB stated that this was the first financing of its kind under the new Critical Minerals-to-Manufacturing Value Chains approach and marked the bank’s first financing of a mining project in decades.
And more potential rewards followed for Pakistan, with the US resuming fisheries imports after a several-year prohibition.
The rocky ride, so to speak, is of course not entirely related to America’s improving ties with Pakistan. It has a lot to do with India’s own faults, in particular Modi’s insecure and paranoid personality. According to a German publication, he did not take at least four phone calls from the US president, and while much of India’s mainstream media takes that as a sign of Modi standing up to a bully, the fact is that Modi doesn’t want to be confronted by the truth.
After all, he cannot admit before his right-wing Hindutva followers that it was India which requested a ceasefire with Pakistan — that would be a major no-no and could cost him the right-wing vote.
There is also the tariff issue, but it stems mainly from Modi’s mishandling of the Operation Sindoor fiasco and his refusal to acknowledge the role played by the US and in particular President Trump. This was further exacerbated by its oil imports from Russia, which is then refined by companies owned by Modi’s friends and sold at a sizeable profit.
The consequence of this chain of events and the rapid deterioration in ties between India and the US has seen Modi cosying up with the presidents of Russia and China at last week’s SCO summit. While the Godi media has made much of his photo ops holding the hands of Presidents Putin and Xi, the Indian prime minister has been severely ridiculed and mocked for now running to express solidarity with a country that has defeated it at least twice in war recently.
One is, of course, speaking of China, where in Galwan in 2020-21 its military inflicted an embarrassing loss on India’s military. And the other is the conflict with Pakistan in May this year, where missiles and fighter jets supplied to Pakistan by China were behind the shooting down of as many as seven Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, including three Rafales.
One can and should ask how Modi can now justify coddling up to China. And the answer to that is that this is a face-saving exercise for him because the only reason for him to act the way he did during the SCO summit was because India and US ties are now at an abysmal low and look likely unsalvageable, at least for the remainder of President Trump’s second term.
The photo ops at the SCO summit are just that — optics — and they don’t define a bilateral relationship. And in the not-too-distant past, India has tried to cosy up to the US while simultaneously leading alliances like BRICS, which the US sees as working against its interests.
That duplicity has now been called out, and it won’t be seen as duplicitous only by America but by China as well. Pakistan’s own relationship with China is very strong and as the May conflict showed, it’s at a level militarily with no other such example elsewhere in the world. And it is unlikely that there would be space for India in this.
India is clearly eyeing a trade relationship with China, which means it doesn’t see itself fighting a war with it. That is a positive development because by extension, it should seek the same kind of relationship with Pakistan as well. That would be a potentially win-win situation for both countries. But it will take more than someone like Modi to do that.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer’s own and don’t necessarily reflect Geo.tv’s editorial policy.
The writer is a journalist based in Karachi. He posts @omar_quraishi and can be reached at: [email protected]
Originally published in The News
Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are currently struggling through a tough phase as reports about their marriage cause major concerns.
While there are many royal reporters who have claimed that the couple is having a rocky marriage in the wake of the Epstein scandal, other reports have cited close friends that there is no trouble in paradise.
In one of The Mail reports, Edo was reached out where he denied the claims of marital woes. Although that did not do much to settle the discourse surrounding Beatrice’s marriage.
Now, in a new Daily Mail report, it was revealed that the couple are planning to move to the US in a bid to avoid all the drama that has caused them a massive headache. Sources have said that Beatrice is “mortified” and unable to sleep and eat due to the scandal.
Even though there is no wrongdoing associated to their names, her father Andrew and mum Fergie’s involvement with paedophile Jeffery Epstein has cause enough issues.
In a discussion on the Royalist podcast, journalist Paula Froelich believes that it could be a good idea to move to Florida where the couple can stay under radar since many of the people associated with Epstein live there. Hence, they would prefer not to bring it up got their own sake.
Meanwhile, Daily Beast editor Tom Sykes, Beatrice appears to be more “emotionally dependant” on her mother and she is “very British” to adjust in the US.
Kerry Katona has broken her silence over the Dubai row with Katie Price in a bombshell interview on Saturday, confessing she is ‘so over the drama.’
It comes after Kerry and Katie’s 22-year friendship was reportedly strained following the fight between their partners.
The punch-up reportedly occurred when Paolo believed Lee was speaking to Katie in an ‘aggressive manner,’ and he reportedly unfollowed Katie’s new husband.
Now, Kerry has made her clear stance, saying she has no ‘interest in revisiting the alleged fallout. She insisted she is in a ‘good place’ and that Katie can do as she pleases.
Speaking to The Sun, Kerry rolled her eyes as she said: ‘I don’t wanna talk about Kate. I don’t wanna talk about Lee.
‘I’m not interested in this saga. I’m not gonna be pulled in. I’m not gonna give it any oxygen. I’m in a good place. Kate can do what she wants.
‘She’s a grown-a** woman. That’s all I have to say. It’s boring now. I am so over it. Can we have a new drama?’
Last month, it was reported that Kerry had ‘quietly unfollowed’ Lee following their trip to Dubai, which allegedly ended in chaos.
‘Kerry quietly unfollowed Lee a few days ago,’ a source claimed to The Sun.
‘She is still upset about what happened when they were all in Dubai together, and at the end of the day, her loyalties are with Paolo, not Katie and her new man.’
At the time, the source said Kerry is speaking again to Katie but does not want anymore contact with Lee.
It comes after Kerry recently showed off the results of her lymphatic drainage massage, designed to remove waste, excess fluid, and toxins from her body by sharing before and after images.
Kerry’s stomach and torso appeared more defined as lay wrapped in a towel in the photos.
Lymphatic drainage is a specialised massage technique that is performed by a trained professional which stimulates the natural movement of lymph fluid.
- Meeting to focus on easing tensions amid Middle East war.
- Pakistan emerges as mediator between Iran, US.
- FMs of Turkiye, Egypt arrive, Saudi FM due in Islamabad.
Pakistan is all set to host a quadrilateral meeting of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt from March 29-30 in Islamabad to deliberate upon a variety of issues, including efforts to reduce the ongoing tensions in the region amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Islamabad has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their war drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.
The meeting comes amid efforts to open a window for diplomacy to end the nearly month-long war between the US, Israel, and Iran, which began on February 28 and has affected the broader Middle East.
In this regard, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty arrived in Islamabad a day earlier on an official visit.
Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud is scheduled to arrive today.
The Egyptian foreign minister arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was warmly received by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Ishaq Dar.
During the meeting, both sides held discussions on the Middle East tension as well as strengthening bilateral relations between Pakistan and Egypt.
Two days earlier, DPM Dar confirmed that indirect talks between the United States and Iran were underway through messages being relayed by Pakistan, with Turkiye and Egypt also helping in the effort.
These efforts included direct contact between Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir and US President Donald Trump on Sunday, confirmed by the White House.
Subsequently, Pakistan delivered a US proposal to Iran, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday. The source did not reveal details of the proposal or confirm if it was the 15-point US framework reported by media outlets.
However, Iran rejected the US proposal, insisting it will end the ongoing “imposed war” on its own terms and timeline, a senior political-security official told Press TV.
Iran outlined five conditions for ending the war: a complete halt to “aggression and assassinations”; mechanisms to prevent the war from being reimposed; guaranteed payment of reparations; resolution across all fronts and resistance groups; and international recognition of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.
As part of preparations, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had a detailed telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier today (Saturday), lasting over one hour.
The call was the PM’s second conversation with Pezeshkian in five days, both of which focused on de-escalation and dialogue.
“I reiterated Pakistan´s strong condemnation of the continued Israeli attacks on Iran, including recent strikes on civilian infrastructure, and conveyed Pakistan´s solidarity with the brave people of Iran,” he wrote on X.
PM said he also expressed his condolences on the tragic loss of precious lives and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured and displaced.
“I apprised him of Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic outreach — engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries — to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation.”
The PM Office said separately that Pezeshkian “stressed the need to build trust in order to facilitate talks and mediation”.
‘Dialogue and diplomacy’
Separately, DPM Dar held a telephonic conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The two leaders discussed the evolving regional situation and ongoing developments.
The deputy premier emphasised the need for de-escalation, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path for lasting peace.
He also underscored the importance of an end to all attacks and hostilities.
Dar said that Pakistan remains committed to supporting all efforts aimed at restoring regional peace and stability.
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