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Modi and Biden pull up Pakistan as Indian prime minister wraps up high-profile US visit

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India and the US “strongly condemned” cross-border terrorism and called on Pakistan to disallow the use of its soil for terrorist attacks in a joint statement that declared the two countries “ among the closest partners in the world ”.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Joe Biden held more than three hours of bilateral, closed-door talks, followed by a 400-person soiree and a joint statement.

Apart from announcements of some landmark deals , the statement included a warning over rising tensions in the East and South China Sea, Ukraine , North Korea and the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar.

The US and India “stand together to counter global terrorism and unequivocally condemn terrorism ” in all its forms and manifestations, the joint statement on Pakistan said.

Mr Modi and Mr Biden “strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” it said.

India has long accused Pakistan of helping Islamist militants wage a proxy war in its part of Kashmir since the late 1980s. Pakistan denies the accusation and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination.

The two neighbours have fought three wars, including two over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full, but rule in part.

“President Biden and Prime Minister Modi reiterated the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb-ul-Mujhahideen,” the joint statement said.

The two leaders announced a flurry of deals to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties and highlight new private sector investments.

Major announcements were made for US visa relaxations for Indians, US chipmaker firm Micron’s investment in Gujarat and an agreement to make fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force among others, according to the joint statement.

India signed a deal to buy 31 drones made by General Atomics worth slightly over $3bn and joined the US-led Artemis Accords on space exploration to work with Nasa on a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024.

Frustrated over India’s close ties with Russia amid its war in Ukraine, Washington wants India to be a strategic counterweight to China and sees India as a critical partner.

Locked in its own territorial dispute in the Himalayan mountains with China , Mr Modi refrained from mentioning Beijing directly in his speeches.

“The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo Pacific,” Mr Modi said addressing a joint meeting of Congress. “The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership.”

Lawmakers warmly welcomed Mr Modi to the House chamber with a loud standing ovation.

As he approached the dais, they lined up to shake his hand, with some in the gallery even chanting his name. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and others escorted the prime minister into the room.

The joint statement also alluded to Beijing as Mr Biden and Modi expressed concern over “unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force”.

They also called for “the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, in addressing challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas”.

Without mentioning Russia, the two leaders “expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences”.

In more light-hearted moments, Mr Biden joked over their sobriety, saying “neither of us drinks” as the two raised a toast with glasses of ginger ale. Mr Biden drank to the health of “two great nations, two great friends, and two great powers”.

Mr Modi also joked about being able to sing.

“I know your hospitality has moved your guests to sing. I wish, I too, had the singing talent,” Mr Modi said in reference to South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s rendition of “American Pie” in the White House.

“I could have also sang before you all.”

He brought up his 2014 visit and said he will make up for not eating then as he was on a fast. Mr Modi said Mr Biden had kept asking him what he could eat.

“But it was not possible for me to eat anything and you were quite concerned about it,” he said. “Well today, I’m making up for it. All that you desired at that time with so much affection is being fulfilled today.”

Additional reporting by agencies

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'If not at cost of...': Pakistan minister on India, US deepening ties ahead of Modi's visit

Pakistan's defence minister khawaja asif has said islamabad does “not have any problem” with the us deepening its ties with india, provided it does not come at the cost of pakistan. the remarks come as prime minister narendra modi prepares to arrive in the us on june 20..

Listen to Story

As the United States of America is gearing up to roll out the new carpet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his state visit, Pakistan has reacted to the deepening ties between India and the US. Islamabad does “not have any problem” with the United States deepening its ties with India, provided it does not come at the cost of Pakistan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said, reported PTI quoting a media report.

“I think we do not have any problem with the United States developing a partnership with India if it is not at the cost of Pakistan,” Khawaja Asif said. The minister said Pakistan wanted good relationships with its neighbours and regional partners.

He was responding to a question about India expanding its relationship with the US, as well as ties between Islamabad and New Delhi, especially in the context of the Kashmir issue.

PM MODI US VISIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in New York on June 20 and will lead the 9th International Yoga Day celebrations at the UN headquarters on June 21. From Times Square and Niagara Falls to Princeton University and Hawaii, members of the Indian-American community are sending welcome messages from iconic US locations on his upcoming historic visit, expressing pride over his “inspiring” leadership.

ALSO READ | Significant moment in US-India relationship: Senator Bob Menendez on PM Modi's state visit

Indian Americans are expected to travel to the US capital in large numbers to witness the official welcome ceremony for Modi on June 22. Prominent US lawmakers, leaders and State Governors are also sending their welcome messages to the Indian Prime Minister.

June 21 is celebrated as the International Day of Yoga as declared by the UN General Assembly in December 2014.

Following the celebration, the Prime Minister will travel to Washington DC, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22 and hold discussions with President Biden during a state dinner hosted in his honor.

At the invitation of Congressional Leaders, the Prime Minister will address a Joint Sitting of the US Congress on June 22. Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Speaker of the Senate Charles Schumer are among those extending the invitation.

South Asia Brief: Modi’s State Visit Aims to Cement U.S.-India Partnership

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Modi’s State Visit Aims to Cement U.S.-India Partnership

Bilateral constraints haven’t gotten in the way of rapidly deepening ties..

• Foreign & Public Diplomacy
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• Michael Kugelman

Welcome to  Foreign Policy ’s South Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington for a state visit, Pakistan mourns the loss of dozens of its citizens in a tragic shipwreck off Greece , and authorities struggle to rein in ethnic violence in the Indian state of Manipur .

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Modi’s State Visit Begins

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Washington for a three-day state visit, during which he will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden. Recent conversations with U.S. officials suggest the core focus of Modi’s trip will be security, technology, trade, and people-to-people cooperation. New deals are expected on defense, semiconductors, space, higher education, and visas, among others.

Modi’s trip marks just the third time that Washington has accorded an Indian leader the honor of a state visit. It underscores the strength of U.S.-India partnership, as well as how far it has come. The two countries still face challenges, from bureaucratic hurdles to trade tensions . But these obstacles haven’t prevented their ties from deepening in relatively little time—a reality Biden aims to acknowledge through the state visit.

Sixty years ago, then-Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan traveled to Washington for the first state visit by an Indian leader, on the invitation of then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy. At the time, bilateral relations were warm: At the beginning of the Cold War, U.S. concerns about communist China prompted Washington to strengthen partnership with New Delhi. The United States backed India during its 1962 border war with China.

But in 1971, then-U.S. President Richard Nixon’s decision to pursue normalization with China brought the United States closer to Pakistan, India’s rival. That contributed to New Delhi’s decision that year to ink a friendship treaty with Moscow. As a result, the 1970s and 1980s were a grim period for U.S.-India relations. They experienced a boost when Indian liberalization reforms created opportunities for trade in the 1990s—until Washington sanctioned New Delhi when it became a nuclear weapons state in 1998.

Only in the 2000s did U.S.-India relations enjoy a true renaissance, amid converging interests: first over the threat of international terrorism, and then over China’s growing clout. The bilateral partnership has since rapidly intensified. Chinese provocations in the South China Sea , Taiwan Strait , and along the India-China border have crystallized the urgency of cooperating to counter a common threat. Deepening business partnerships and a growing Indian American community have increased trust and goodwill between Washington and New Delhi.

In recent years, the United States and India have ramped up arms sales, intelligence sharing , and military-to-military cooperation . Technology , clean energy , and higher education have also become fast-growing spaces for cooperation. The scope of this cooperation has also expanded, from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean and even to the Middle East—through their membership in the so-called I2U2 grouping, which also includes Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

To be sure, some of the mistrust between the two countries dating to the Cold War era still lingers. Many Indians decried the slow U.S. response to India’s catastrophic COVID-19 surge in 2021, with some wondering if Russia was still India’s most dependable partner. But such incidents are anomalies. (The delay was likely bureaucratic; Biden had recently taken office and many senior India posts in the administration remained empty.)

The growth in U.S.-India ties is all the more remarkable given the relationship’s considerable constraints. India’s democracy has faltered —a concern for the Biden administration, which emphasizes the importance of shared values. India declines to be a formal U.S. ally, opting to safeguard its strategic autonomy. Meanwhile, each country maintains partnerships with the other’s top rival: Washington with Islamabad, and New Delhi with Moscow.

The two countries have so far navigated these challenges with a combination of flexibility , creativity , and the U.S. willingness to let hard interests prevail over values-based considerations—to the frustration of human rights activists and other critics of India.

Modi’s state visit is poised to overcome another constraint: misplaced expectations. Heady talk is now part of the relationship, which U.S. officials call the most important of the 21st century, and it often raises expectations for deliverables that don’t materialize at high-level summits. The two sides finalized a nuclear cooperation deal in 2008, even though India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It was regarded as a milestone for the partnership, but they haven’t signed a comparable agreement since.

However, this week will bring many agreements, including some that have remained elusive, such as a long-rumored armed drones package and unprecedented defense technology transfers . There may even be forward movement on addressing U.S. liability concerns that have inhibited the implementation of the nuclear cooperation deal. Modi’s visit comes at a moment when both countries are experiencing some of their worst tensions with China in decades, underscoring the strategic imperatives of their partnership.

Much has changed for the U.S.-India relationship since Radhakrishnan came to Washington in June 1963. It suffered through many lean years before evolving into what it is today: a stable, strategic partnership with strong support in both capitals.

What We’re Following

Pakistani tragedy at sea. Horrible details have emerged about the fate of the migrants onboard an overloaded trawler that sank off the coast of Greece last week. The boat carried people from Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, as well as many Pakistanis; local media outlets report that as many as 300 Pakistani nationals died when the ship capsized.

All on board were suffering from severe hunger and thirst before the ship went down. But according to survivor accounts provided to Greek coast guard officials and leaked to the Guardian , the Pakistanis on board “were forced below deck,” where they were maltreated by crew members when they tried to leave the vulnerable area.

The tragedy underscores the desperate lengths that some Pakistanis will go to find better opportunities at a moment of severe economic stress . In the wake of the shipwreck, Islamabad has cracked down on human traffickers, leading to 10 arrests in Karachi and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, although few details have emerged about their connection to the trawler.

Violence in Manipur. Nearly two months after ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, the unrest between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities continues. It has displaced around 50,000 people, and more than 100 people have died. Authorities have struggled to rein in violence in the state; last Thursday, a mob burned the home of a senior federal government official, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.

The Manipur government, controlled by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has taken heat from locals for not doing enough to stop the unrest. Some Kukis have accused state officials of siding with the Meiteis. The federal government has deployed 40,000 troops to stabilize the situation and attempted to broker talks, with little success. The violence is a sobering reminder of India’s communal fault lines—and the state’s struggles to address them.

In Foreign Policy , Sushant Singh argues that the violence in Manipur will have ripple effects on India’s disputed border with China—and beyond.

Under the Radar

Bollywood is known to generate controversy, but rarely enough to prompt cities outside India to ban all of its films . Yet that’s what’s happened in two major cities in Nepal this week in response to Adipurush , a movie inspired by the Hindu epic Ramayana —and one of the most expensive films ever made in India. The film describes Sita, the wife of Lord Ram, as “India’s daughter.” But Hindus in Nepal believe she was born in the Nepali city of Janakpur.

The mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, ordered theaters to stop playing Bollywood films until the line is changed. The mayor of Pokhara followed suit . Adipurush has been controversial in India as well, with critics lambasting it for being indecent and trivializing some characters from the Ramayana . Interestingly, several leaders of India’s BJP are thanked in the film’s closing credits.

Subjecting sacred ancient religious literature to contemporary artistic interpretations can be sensitive. In the case of Adipurush , it’s had cross-border consequences. On Sunday, one of the film’s co-writers conceded that the “India’s daughter” line will be amended.

More From FP on Modi’s State Visit

• Washington’s Perennial India Fantasy by Howard W. French
• For Biden and Modi, Interests Prevail Over Ideology by C. Raja Mohan
• Why India and the U.S. Are Closer Than Ever by Rishi Iyengar

Regional Voices

Former Pakistani diplomat Maleeha Lodhi , writing in Dawn , laments how the government in Islamabad hasn’t formally committed to holding parliamentary elections—currently scheduled for no later than mid-October—on time. “Any effort to play with the election date beyond what is constitutionally stipulated would be disastrous for the country,” she warns.

In the Daily Mirror , scholar Ahilan Kadirgamar argues that International Monetary Fund assistance is not the solution to Sri Lanka’s economic ills. “With more of the same policies of austerity, and without stimulus to the economy in the form of state support to critical sectors, the hemorrhage is likely to continue,” he writes.

An editorial in Kuensel details the policy challenges posed by street hawking in Bhutan. It calls for a response that emphasizes “the need for a comprehensive and practical solution that balances the socioeconomic realities of the hawkers with the concerns of public safety, urban planning, and formal businesses.”

Michael Kugelman is the writer of Foreign Policy ’s weekly South Asia Brief. He is the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington. Twitter:  @michaelkugelman

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Joint Statement from the United   States and   India

1.        President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today affirmed a vision of the United States and India as among the closest partners in the world – a partnership of democracies looking into the 21 st century with hope, ambition, and confidence.  The U.S.-India Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership is anchored in a new level of trust and mutual understanding and enriched by the warm bonds of family and friendship that inextricably link our countries together.  Together, we will build an even stronger, diverse U.S.-India partnership that will advance the aspirations of our people for a bright and prosperous future grounded in respect for human rights, and shared principles of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.  Our cooperation will serve the global good as we work through a range of multilateral and regional groupings – particularly the Quad– to contribute toward a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.  No corner of human enterprise is untouched by the partnership between our two great countries, which spans the seas to the stars.   Charting a Technology Partnership for the Future   2.        President Biden and Prime Minister Modi affirm that technology will play the defining role in deepening our partnership.  The leaders hailed the inauguration of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in January 2023 as a major milestone in U.S.-India relations.  They called on our governments, businesses, and academic institutions to realize their shared vision for the strategic technology partnership.  The leaders recommitted the United States and India to fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem, based on mutual confidence and trust that reinforces our shared values and democratic institutions.   3.        President Biden and Prime Minister Modi set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation.  The leaders applauded our growing cooperation on earth and space science, and space technologies. They welcomed the decision of NASA and ISRO to develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of 2023.The leaders hailed the announcement by NASA to provide advanced training to Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, with a goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024.The leaders celebrated the delivery of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite to ISRO’s U.R. Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, India, and looked forward to NISAR’s 2024 launch from India.  Welcoming India’s Space Policy – 2023, the leaders called for enhanced commercial collaboration between the U.S. and Indian private sectors in the entire value chain of the space economy and to address export controls and facilitate technology transfer. President Biden deeply appreciated India’s signing of the Artemis Accords, which advance a common vision of space exploration for the benefit of all humankind.     4.        President Biden and Prime Minister Modi committed their administrations to promoting policies and adapting regulations that facilitate greater technology sharing, co-development, and co-production opportunities between U.S. and Indian industry, government, and academic institutions.  The leaders welcomed the launch of the interagency-led Strategic Trade Dialogue in June2023 and directed both sides to undertake regular efforts to address export controls, explore ways of enhancing high technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer between the two countries.   5.        President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed the signing of an MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership as a significant step in the coordination of our countries’ semiconductor incentive programs.  This will promote commercial opportunities, research, talent, and skill development.  The leaders welcomed an announcement by Micron Technology, Inc., to invest up to $825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government.  The combined investment valued at $2.75 billion would create up to 5,000 new direct and 15,000 community jobs opportunities in the next five years.  The leaders also welcomed Lam Research’s proposal to train 60,000 Indian engineers through its Semiverse Solution virtual fabrication platform to accelerate India’s semiconductor education and workforce development goals, and an announcement by Applied Materials, Inc., to invest $400 million to establish a collaborative engineering center in India.    6.         President Biden and Prime Minister Modi share a vision of creating secure and trusted telecommunications ,  resilient supply chains, and enabling global digital inclusion.  To fulfill this vision, the leaders launched two Joint Task Forces on advanced telecommunications, focused on Open RAN and research and development in 5G/6G technologies. Public-private cooperation between vendors and operators will be led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the U.S. Next G Alliance.  We are partnering on Open RAN field trials and rollouts, including scaled deployments, in both countries with operators and vendors of both markets, backed by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) financing.  The leaders welcomed participation of Indian companies in the U.S. Rip and Replace Program.  They endorsed an ambitious vision for 6G networks, including standards cooperation, facilitating access to chipsets for system development, and establishing joint research and development projects.  President Biden and Prime Minister Modi also stressed the need to put in place a “Trusted Network/Trusted Sources” bilateral framework.   7.        President Biden and Prime Minister Modi welcomed the establishment of a joint Indo-U.S. Quantum Coordination Mechanism to facilitate collaboration among industry, academia, and government, and our work toward a comprehensive Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement.  The United States welcomes India’s participation in the Quantum Entanglement Exchange and in the Quantum Economic Development Consortium to facilitate expert and commercial exchanges with leading, like-minded quantum nations.  The United States and India will sustain and grow quantum training and exchange programs and work to reduce barriers to U.S.-India research collaboration.  The leaders welcomed the launch of a $2million grant program under the U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment fund for the joint development and commercialization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies, and encouraged public-private collaborations to develop high performance computing (HPC) facilities in India.  President Biden also reiterated his government’s commitment to work with U.S. Congress to lower barriers to U.S. exports to India of HPC technology and source code.   The U.S. side pledged to make its best efforts in support of India’s Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) joining the U.S. Accelerated Data Analytics and Computing (ADAC) Institute.   8.        The leaders welcomed 35 innovative joint research collaborations in emerging technologies funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST).  Under a new implementation arrangement between NSF and DST, both sides will fund joint research projects in computer and information science and engineering, cyber physical systems, and secure and trustworthy cyberspace. Furthermore, NSF and India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will bring fresh funding for joint projects in applied research areas such as semiconductors, next generation communication, cyber security, sustainability and green technologies and intelligent transportation systems.   9.        Both President Biden and Prime Minister Modi acknowledge the profound opportunities and significant risks associated with AI.  Accordingly, they committed to develop joint and international collaboration on trustworthy and responsible AI, including generative AI, to advance AI education and workforce initiatives, promote commercial opportunities, and mitigate against discrimination and bias. The United States also supports India’s leadership as Chair of the Global Partnership on AI.  The leaders applauded Google’s intent to continue investing through its $10 billion India Digitization Fund, including in early-stage Indian startups.  Through its AI Research Center in India, Google is building models to support over 100 Indian languages.   10.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed our deepening bilateral cooperation on cutting-edge scientific infrastructure, including a $140 million in-kind contribution from the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Fermi National Laboratory toward collaborative development of the Proton Improvement Plan-II Accelerator, for the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility — the first and largest international research facility on U.S. soil.  They also welcomed the commencement of construction of a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India.  The leaders called on their administrations to extend these partnerships to advanced biotechnology and biomanufacturing, and enhance biosafety and biosecurity innovation, practices, and norms.   Powering a Next Generation Defense Partnership   11.      The U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership has emerged as a pillar of global peace and security.  Through  joint exercises, strengthening of defense industrial cooperation, the annual “2+2” Ministerial Dialogue, and other consultative mechanisms, we have made substantial progress in building an advanced and comprehensive defense partnership in which our militaries coordinate closely across all domains.  The leaders appreciated the strong military-to-military ties, mutual logistics support, and efforts to streamline implementation of foundational agreements.  They noted that information sharing and placement of Liaison Officers in each other’s military organizations will spur joint service cooperation.  They also reiterated their resolve to strengthen maritime security cooperation, including through enhanced underwater domain awareness. The leaders welcomed the launch of dialogues in new defense domains including space and AI, which will enhance capacity building, knowledge, and expertise.   12.      Expressing their desire to accelerate defense industrial cooperation, the leaders welcomed the adoption of a Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, which will provide policy direction to defense industries and enable co-production of advanced defense systems and collaborative research, testing, and prototyping of projects.  Both sides are committed to addressing any regulatory barriers to defense industrial cooperation.  The leaders also noted the decision of India’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense to commence negotiations for concluding a Security of Supply arrangement and initiate discussions about Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreement.   13.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed the landmark signing of an MoU between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the manufacture of GE F-414 jet engines in India, for the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Light Combat Aircraft Mk 2.  This trailblazing initiative to manufacture F-414 engines in India will enable greater transfer of U.S. jet engine technology than ever before.  The leaders committed their governments to working collaboratively and expeditiously to support the advancement of this unprecedented co-production and technology transfer proposal.    14.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi also welcomed India’s emergence as a hub for maintenance and repair for forward deployed U.S. Navy assets and the conclusion of  Master Ship Repair Agreements with Indian shipyards.  This will allow the U.S. Navy to expedite the contracting process for mid-voyage and emergent repair.  As envisaged in the Defense Industrial Roadmap, both countries agree to work together for the creation of logistic, repair, and maintenance infrastructure for aircrafts and vessels in India.   15.      The leaders welcomed the setting up and launch of the U.S.-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X). As a network of universities, startups, industry and think tanks, INDUS-X will facilitate joint defense technology innovation, and co-production of advanced defense technology between the respective industries of the two countries. The U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Force has signed its first International Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Indian start-up 114 AI and 3rdiTech. Both companies will work with General Atomics to co-develop components using cutting edge technologies in AI and semiconductors respectively.   16.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi welcomed India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs.  The MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR capabilities of India’s armed forces across domains. As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India to support of India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defense capabilities.   Catalyzing the Clean Energy Transition   17.      As climate action and clean energy leaders, the United States and India share a common and ambitious vision to rapidly deploy clean energy at scale, build economic prosperity, and help achieve global climate goals.  They recognize the critical role of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and India’s ambitious production-linked incentives scheme for cutting-edge clean and renewable technologies.  The leaders highlighted the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership and Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) as reflective of this commitment.  The leaders welcomed joint efforts to develop and deploy energy storage technologies, including through the establishment of a new task force under SCEP. The leaders welcomed the launch of the U.S.-India New and Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform, which will accelerate cooperation in green hydrogen, offshore and onshore wind, and other emerging technologies. They will collaborate to achieve their respective national goals to reduce the cost of green/clean hydrogen under India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and the U.S. Hydrogen Energy Earthshot.  The United States welcomed India’s decision to co-lead the multilateral Hydrogen Breakthrough Agenda. The leaders called for the development of joint efforts in carbon capture, utilization, and storage, given its role in reducing emissions.  The leaders welcomed India’s VSK Energy LLC’s announcement to invest up to $1.5 billion to develop a new, vertically integrated solar panel manufacturing operation in the United States and India’s JSW Steel USA’s plans to invest $120 million at its Mingo Junction, Ohio, steel plant to better serve growing markets in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors.   18.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi underscored the importance of decarbonizing the transportation sector, including by accelerating the deployment of zero emissions vehicles, continued collaboration to promote public and private financing for electric transportation, and the development of biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuels.  To this end, the leaders lauded the creation and development of the Global Biofuels Alliance, which will be launched in July 2023, with the United States as a founding member.  Both leaders welcomed the signing of an MOU under which the U.S. Agency for International Development will support Indian Railways’ ambitious target to become a “net-zero” carbon emitter by 2030.The United States and India also announced plans to create a payment security mechanism that will facilitate the deployment of 10,000 made-in-India electric buses in India, augmenting India’s focused efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving public health, and diversifying the global supply chain.   19.      India and the United States committed to create innovative investment platforms that will effectively lower the cost of capital and attract international private finance at scale to accelerate the deployment of greenfield renewable energy, battery storage, and emerging green technology projects in India.  The United States and India will endeavor to develop a first-of-its kind, multibillion-dollar investment platform aimed at providing catalytic capital and de-risking support for such projects.    20.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed their support for the mission of the International Energy Agency (IEA), and President Biden pledged to continue working with the Government of India, IEA members, the IEA Secretariat, and other relevant stakeholders toward IEA membership for India in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement on an International Energy Program.     21.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi affirmed the intention of the two governments, as trusted partners, to work together to ensure that our respective markets are well-supplied with the essential critical minerals needed to achieve our climate, economic and strategic technology cooperation goals.  The leaders pledged to hasten bilateral collaboration to secure resilient critical minerals supply chains through enhanced technical assistance and greater commercial cooperation, and exploration of additional joint frameworks as necessary.  The United States enthusiastically welcomes India as the newest partner in the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable critical energy minerals supply chains globally while agreeing to the principles of the MSP including environmental, social, and governance standards.  The leaders lauded the announcement of India’s Epsilon Carbon Limited’s plans toinvest $650 million in a U.S. greenfield electric vehicle battery component factory.   22.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi underscored the important role nuclear energy plays in global decarbonization efforts and affirmed nuclear energy as a necessary resource to meet our nations’ climate, energy transition, and energy security needs.  The leaders noted ongoing negotiations between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India.  They welcomed intensified consultations between the U.S. DOE and India’s DAE for facilitating opportunities for WEC to develop a techno-commercial offer for the Kovvada nuclear project. They also noted the ongoing discussion on developing next generation small modular reactor technologies in a collaborative mode for the domestic market as well as for export. The United States reaffirms its support for India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and commits to continue engagement with likeminded partners to advance this goal.   23.      The leaders recognize that addressing sustainable consumption and production is a key component to achieving of the development, environment and climate ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.  In this regard, President Biden welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s Lifestyle for Environment initiative (LiFE) as a successful national model to address the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification and land degradation, and resolved to work together to implement the G20 High Level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development.   Deepening Strategic Convergence   24.      As global partners, the United States and India affirm that the rules-based international order must be respected. They emphasized that the contemporary global order has been built on principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.   25.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences.  The leaders underscored the serious and growing impacts of the war on the global economic system, including on food, fuel and energy security, and critical supply chains.  They called for greater efforts to mitigate the consequences of the war, especially in the developing world.   Both countries further pledge to render continuing humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.  They called for respect for international law, principles of the UN charter, and territorial integrity and sovereignty.  Both countries concurred on the importance of post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine.   26.      The United States and India reaffirmed their resolve to counter any attempts to unilaterally subvert the multilateral system. The leaders underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system so it may better reflect contemporary realities. In this context both sides remain committed to a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council.  Sharing the view that global governance must be more inclusive and representative, President Biden reiterated U.S. support for India’s permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council(UNSC).  In this context, President Biden welcomed India’s candidature as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2028-29 term, in view of India’s significant contributions to the UN system and commitment to multilateralism, as well as its active and constructive engagement in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations process on Security Council reforms, with an overall objective of making the UNSC more effective, representative, and credible. 27.       President Biden and Prime Minister Modi recommitted themselves to empowering the Quad as a partnership for global good.  The two leaders welcomed the progress made at the Hiroshima Summit last month among the four maritime democracies to further advance a positive and constructive agenda for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.  The leaders welcomed progress on the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, through which Quad partners are providing maritime domain data across the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific regions. The Quad to be hosted in India in 2024 would be another opportunity to continue the dialogue and consolidate cooperation.  The leaders committed to continue working in partnership with regional platforms such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association, Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, and ASEAN to achieve shared aspirations and address shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region.  Prime Minister Modi welcomed the United States joining the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and President Biden welcomed India’s continued participation as an observer in the Partners in the Blue Pacific.  28.      The leaders also welcomed the depth and pace of enhanced consultations between the two governments on regional issues including South Asia, the Indo-Pacific and East Asia and looked forward to our governments holding an inaugural Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2023. 29.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi reiterated their enduring commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous India-Pacific region with respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and international law.  Both leaders expressed concern over coercive actions and rising tensions, and strongly oppose destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force. Both sides emphasized the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, in addressing challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas. 30.      The leaders expressed deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, and called for the release of all those arbitrarily detained, the establishment of constructive dialogue, and the transition of Myanmar toward an inclusive federal democratic system. 31.      The leaders also condemned the destabilizing ballistic missile launches of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which violate relevant UN Security Council resolutions and pose a grave threat to international peace and security.  They reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urged DPRK to comply with its obligations under these resolutions and engage in substantive dialogue.  They stressed the importance of addressing the concerns regarding DPRK’s proliferation linkages related to weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery, and related items in the region and beyond.

32.       The United States and India stand together to counter global terrorism and unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations.  President Biden and Prime Minister Modi reiterated the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb-ul-Mujhahideen.  They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks.  They called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to be brought to justice. They noted with concern the increasing global use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones and information and communication technologies for terrorist purposes and reaffirmed the importance of working together to combat such misuse. They welcomed the cooperation between our two governments on counterterrorism designations and homeland security cooperation, including in intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation, and called upon the Financial Action Task Force to undertake further work identifying how to improve global implementation of its standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. 33.      The leaders reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure, and stable Afghanistan.They discussed the current humanitarian situation and concurred on the need to continue to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. The leaders urged the Taliban to abide by UNSC Resolution 2593 which demands that Afghan territory should never be used to threaten or attack any country, shelter or train terrorists, or plan or finance terrorist attacks. Committing to continue close consultations on the situation in Afghanistan, the leaders emphasized the importance of formation of an inclusive political structure and called on the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to respect freedom of movement.

34.       President Biden and Prime Minister Modi looked forward to strengthening a long-term strategic partnership between the I2U2 countries of India, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and the United States to leverage markets to build more innovative, inclusive, and science-based solutions to enhance food and energy security, improve movement of people and goods across hemispheres, and increase sustainability and resilience.

35.  President Biden and Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to an open, secure, inclusive, safe, interoperable, and reliable Internet, and to continuing cooperation on a range of cybersecurity issues, including preventing and responding to cyber threats, promoting cybersecurity education and awareness and measures to build resilient cyber infrastructure.  Both the United States and India are committed to sharing information about cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and to working together to investigate and respond to cyber incidents.    36.      The United States and India reaffirm and embrace their shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights, inclusion, pluralism, and equal opportunities for all citizens.  Both countries have a tradition of recognizing the diversity represented in their nations and celebrating the contributions of all their citizens.  They reasserted that democracy, freedom, and rule of law are the shared values that anchor global peace and sustainable development. In keeping with the spirit of leaving no one behind, both leaders committed to working towards ensuring that fruits of economic growth and well-being reach the underprivileged. They also committed to pursue programs and initiatives that would facilitate women-led development, and enable all women and girls to live free from gender-based violence and abuse. President Biden underscored his appreciation for India’s participation in the Summit for Democracy process, and for efforts made by India toward sharing knowledge, technical expertise, and experiences with electoral management bodies of other democracies. The leaders also welcomed the re-launch of the Global Issues Forum, which would hold its next meeting at an appropriate time.   Propelling Global Growth   37.      As two of the world’s largest democratic economies, the United States and India are indispensable partners in advancing global prosperity and a free, fair, and rules-based economic order.  President Biden highlighted the impactful participation of Prime Minister Modi in the G7 Hiroshima Summit and looks forward to the G20 Summit in September in New Delhi. He applauded India’s leadership in its ongoing G20 Presidency, which has brought renewed focus on strengthening multilateral institutions and international cooperation to tackle global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, fragility and conflict, along with work to accelerate achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and lay the foundation for strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.   38.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi are united in their determination to use the G20 to deliver on shared priorities for the G20 Leaders’ Summit, including improving the sovereign debt restructuring process; advancing the multilateral development bank evolution agenda, including mobilizing new concessional financing at the World Bank to support all developing countries; and raising the level of ambition on mobilizing private sector investment for quality, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. The United States looks forward to hosting the G20 presidency in 2026, nearly two decades after the first full-scale G20 Leaders’ Summit in Pittsburgh.   39.      The United States and India recognize the potential of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approaches for enabling open and inclusive digital economies. President Biden and Prime Minister Modi intend to work together to provide global leadership for the implementation of DPI to promote inclusive development, competitive markets, and protect individual rights.  In this regard, the United States and India will explore how to partner together and align our efforts to advance the development and deployment of robust DPIs, including appropriate safeguards to protect, privacy, data security and intellectual property.  They will explore developing a U.S.-India Global Digital Development Partnership, which would bring together technology and resources from both countries to enable development and deployment of DPIs in developing countries. 40.      The leaders are committed to pursuing ambitious efforts to strengthen Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to address shared global challenges of the 21 st century. In this regard, they emphasized the need for comprehensive efforts by MDBs to evolve their vision, incentive structure, operational approaches and financial capacity so that they are better equipped to address a wide range of SDGs and trans-boundary challenges including climate change, pandemics, conflicts and fragility. Recognizing multilateral efforts in this area, the leaders acknowledged the ongoing work under the Indian presidency of the G20 on strengthening MDBs including the report of the G20 Expert Group on Strengthening MDBs.  By the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, the United States and India will work together to secure G20 commitment to create a major new dedicated pool of funds at the World Bank to deploy concessional lending for global challenges, and to enhance support for crisis response in International Development Association recipient countries.   41.      The leaders reaffirmed that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is an important pillar of our collective and collaborative efforts to build resilience in our supply chains, harness transformations in clean energy, and accelerate progress of our economies through anti-corruption efforts, efficient tax administrative practices, and capacity building measures.  The leaders welcomed the substantial conclusion of negotiations on the proposed IPEF Supply Chain Agreement and committed to working with other partners expeditiously to conclude negotiations of the agreements under the clean economy and fair economy pillars to deliver concrete benefits that enhance the economic competitiveness and prosperity of countries in the Indo-Pacific. President Biden invited India to attend the APEC Summit in San Francisco in November 2023 as a guest of the host.   42.      The U.S.-India trade and investment partnership is an engine for global growth, with bilateral trade exceeding $191 billion in 2022, nearly doubling from 2014.  The leaders applauded the reconvening of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum in March in New Delhi.  They encouraged respective industries to take action on the recommendations from the CEOs for greater engagement and technical cooperation to build resilient supply chains for emerging technologies, clean energy technologies, and pharmaceuticals; promote an innovative digital economy; lower barriers to trade and investment; harmonize standards and regulations wherever feasible; and  work towards skilling our workforces.  The leaders support continued active engagement between the U.S. Treasury Department and the Indian Ministry of Finance under the Economic and Financial Partnership dialogue.  They encouraged the U.S. Federal Insurance Office and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to advance areas of mutual interest in the insurance sector under their existing MoU framework.   43.      The United States and India have also taken steps toward deepening bilateral cooperation to strengthen our economic relationship, including trade ties. Underscoring the willingness and trust of both countries in resolving trade issues, the leaders welcomed the resolution of six outstanding WTO disputes between the two countries through mutually agreed solutions as well as their understandings on market access related to certain products of significance to the bilateral trade relationship.  They also looked forward to reconvening the India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum before the end of 2023 to further enhance the bilateral trade relationship by addressing trade concerns and identifying further areas for engagement. India highlighted its interest in the restoration of its status under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program, which could be considered in relation to eligibility criteria determined by the U.S. Congress.  The leaders supported intensifying the work to advance progress on issues related to the eligibility criteria. Prime Minister Modi also expressed India’s interest towards being recognized as a Trade Agreements Act-designated country by the United States to further enhance the integration of both economies and to further promote trade and investment between two countries.  In this regard, the leaders welcomed the initiation of discussions between both sides at an official level on issues related to bilateral government procurement.   44.      The leaders welcomed focused efforts under the re-launched U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue to expand cooperation in the areas of Talent, Innovation, and Inclusive Growth.  President Biden expressed appreciation for the significant workforce development efforts undertaken by several of the Indian companies taking part in the U.S.-India CEO Forum to upskill more than 250,000 employees and promote STEM learning within local communities across the United States.  Both leaders applauded the concept of an “Innovation Handshake” under the Commercial Dialogue that will lift up and connect the two sides’ dynamic startup ecosystems, address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation, and promote further innovation and job growth, particularly in emerging technologies.  The Innovation Handshake demonstrates the resolve on both sides to further bolster their shared vision of an elevated strategic technology partnership, leveraging the strength and ingenuity of their respective private sectors to identify new innovations and match them with industry requirements across the priority sectors identified under the iCET framework.    45.      Recognizing the essential role that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play in advancing inclusive growth, expanding exports, and boosting employment across our respective cities, towns, and rural areas, the leaders welcomed plans under the Commercial Dialogue to organize a forum to promote the role and scope of MSMEs in bilateral trade and a digital commerce showcase to strengthen the engagement of women-owned and rural enterprises in particular.  They commended the work of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Indian Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which are pursuing increased cooperation and intend to formalize their work through a MoU to support entrepreneurs and MSMEs.   46.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi again welcomed Air India’s historic agreement with Boeing to acquire more than 200 American-made aircraft.  This purchase will support more than one million American jobs across 44 states and contribute to ongoing efforts to modernize the civil aviation sector in India.  Boeing has announced a $100 million investment on infrastructure and programs to train pilots in India, supporting India’s need for 31,000 new pilots over the next 20 years. The leaders also welcomed Boeing’s announcement of its completion of a C-17 aftermarket support facility for MRO and a new parts logistics center in India to capture future synergies between defense and civil aviation.   Empowering Future Generations and Protecting the Health of our People   47.      President Biden and Prime Minister hailed the growing bilateral education partnership between the United States and India.  Indian students are on pace to soon become the largest foreign student community in the United States, with an increase of nearly 20 percent in Indian students studying in the United States last year alone.  The leaders welcomed the establishment of a new Joint Task Force of the Association of American Universities and leading Indian educational institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, and the nomination of councils on each side, and noted their interim recommendations for expanding research and university partnerships between the two countries.  They also welcomed the establishment of Indo-U.S. Global Challenge Institutes to spark deeper research partnerships and people-to-people exchanges between a range of diverse institutions in the U.S. and India in semiconductors, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, health and pandemic preparedness, and emerging technologies.   48.      The leaders welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Department of State that it would launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals, with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool of H1B and L visa holders in 2024 and eventually broadening the program to include other eligible categories.   49.      The leaders affirmed that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, investors and business travelers between the countries contributes immensely to enhancing bilateral economic and technological partnership. While acknowledging the important steps taken to augment processing of visa applications, they noted the pressing need to further expedite this process. The leaders also directed officials to identify additional mechanisms to facilitate travel for business, tourism, and professional and technical exchanges between the two countries.   50.      Concomitant with the rapid growth in our strategic partnership and demand for travel, both sides intend to open new consulates in each other’s countries. The United States intends to initiate the process to open two new consulates in India in the cities of Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.  India will take steps to operationalize its new consulate in Seattle later this year, and open two new consulates at jointly identified locations in the United States.   51.      The leaders recognized the role of asocial security totalization agreement in protecting the interests of cross border workers and reaffirmed the intent to continue ongoing discussions concerning the elements required in both countries to enter into a bilateral social security totalization agreement.   52.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi celebrate the historic and active collaboration across the full expanse of our respective health sectors. They welcomed the opportunity for deeper collaboration to secure pharmaceutical supply chains.  The leaders encouraged their administrations to continue their strong collaboration on pandemic preparedness, supported by epidemiology training; laboratory strengthening and point of entry surveillance; and food safety and regulation.  The leaders applauded collaborations between research institutes of both countries on affordable cancer technology programs, including for the development of AI enabled diagnostic and prognosis prediction tools, and on diabetes research.  The leaders committed to holding a U.S.-India Cancer Dialogue, hosted by President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, to bring experts together from both countries to identify concrete areas of collaboration to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. They also called for expanded collaboration on digital health platforms including responsible use of cutting-edge technologies like AI, and to explore cooperation in research and the use of traditional medicine. President Biden lauded Prime Minister Modi’s plan to eliminate tuberculosis in India by 2025, five years ahead of the target set by the UN’s sustainable development goals, hailing it as a big step forward that will inspire other countries to action.   53.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi welcomed the opportunity for deeper collaboration to secure, de-risk, and strengthen pharmaceutical supply chains, with a focus on active pharmaceutical ingredients, key starting materials, and key vaccine input materials. They also underscored the need for strengthening global collaboration network on research and development in medical countermeasures,  vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to promote access to safe, effective, and innovative medical products in an affordable manner.   54.      President Biden and Prime Minister Modi committed to work toward a broader and deeper bilateral drug policy framework for the 21 st century.  Under this framework, both countries aspire to expand cooperation and collaboration to disrupt the illicit production and international trafficking of illicit drugs, including synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and Amphetamine Type Stimulants and illicit use of their Precursors. Toward this end, they committed to a holistic public health partnership to prevent and treat illicit drug use, address workforce shortages and skilling requirements, and showcase a secure, resilient, reliable and growing pharmaceutical supply chain as a model for the world.   55.      Prime Minister Modi conveyed his deep appreciation for the repatriation of antiquities to India by the United States.  Both sides expressed strong interest in working quickly toward a Cultural Property Agreement, which would help to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property from India and enhance cooperation on the protection and lawful exchange of cultural property.   56.      The Leaders welcomed the establishment of the Tamil Studies Chair at the University of Houston and reinstating the Vivekananda Chair at the University of Chicago to further research and teaching of India’s history and culture.   57.      Prime Minister Modi looked forward to the visit of President Biden to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi in September 2023.   58.      Taken together, the leaders today affirmed that this document, in its breadth and depth,  represents the most expansive and comprehensive vision for progress in the history of our bilateral relationship.  Still, our ambitions are to reach ever greater heights, and we commit both our governments and our peoples to this endeavor, now and into the future.

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Pakistan on PM Modi's US visit: 'No problems with US-India ties, but not at our cost'

Pak Minister Khawaja Asif called India "a big market" and theirs a vulnerable economy

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi readies to embark on a state visit to the US on Tuesday, Pakistan has responded to a significant diplomatic move, stating it has "no problem with the United States deepening its ties with India, provided it does not come at the cost of Pakistan."

Modi's official state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden is considered crucial for both countries as the discussions are likely to focus on healthcare, technology, renewable energy, education and defence.

The high-profile visit has turned into a talking point in Islamabad too as  Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated that the country "wanted good relationships with its neighbours and regional partners."

"I think we do not have any problem with the United States developing a partnership with India if it is not at the cost of Pakistan," Asif told  Newsweek in an exclusive interview.

"We have common borders with China, we have common borders with Afghanistan, Iran, India. We would like to improve our relationships with them if the relationship is not good. We want to live in peace. If there is no peace there, we will never be able to restore our economy the way we want to restore it," he said. 

Asif added that "the Indian outlook towards regional politics completely changed, because it is a Hindu nationalist government" and this has worsened the ties between the two countries.

He, however, acknowledged that India is a big market and Pakistan is a vulnerable economy. "Obviously, India is a very big market, over 1.3 billion people. Everywhere in the world, the other big economies will need to have them as partners. But Pakistan is not a very big economy, and [is] a vulnerable economy. All we have is a geographical location, which is strategic, which attracts, I would say, not all the good things, it sometimes attracts some things which really make us even more vulnerable," the Defence Minister added. 

Asif added that he felt appreciation was required in Washington about Pakistan's situation. "We should not be pushed into a situation where we have to make some very hard choices," he added. "Our relationship with America for us is very valuable. It has its history. It has some disappointments, some huge disappointments, but still we value our relationship with the United States and we want that relationship to flourish," the minister said.

The Pakistan Minister's response comes as Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently said the US expects a transformational moment in India ties during Modi's trip.

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Modi’s US visit prompts condemnation and protest from Muslim leaders

India’s prime minister ‘has a notorious and extensive record of human rights abuses’, said a statement from lawmakers

Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US has prompted condemnation and protest from Muslim leaders, lawmakers and other allies.

US house representatives Rashida Tlaib, Representative Ilhan Omar, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush and Kweisi Mfume are among those who have said they will boycott the Indian prime minister’s address to Congress on Thursday in light of the violence and repression of the media and religious minorities like Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits carried out under his rightwing nationalist government.

“Modi has a notorious and extensive record of human rights abuses,” Tlaib, Bush, Omar and Jamaal Bowman said in a statement. “He was complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots that killed over 1,000 people, leading to the revocation of his US visa. His government has openly targeted Muslims and other religious minorities, enabled Hindu nationalist violence, undermined democracy, targeted journalists and dissidents, and suppressed criticism using authoritarian tactics like internet shutdowns and censorship.

“It is shameful to honor these abuses by allowing Modi to address a joint session of Congress. We refuse to participate in it and will be boycotting the joint address. We stand in solidarity with the communities that have been harmed by Modi and his policies. We must never sacrifice human rights at the altar of political expediency and we urge all members of Congress who profess to stand for freedom and democracy to join us in boycotting this embarrassing spectacle.”

In a statement, the Center on Islamic Relations (Cair), the US’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, also said it “welcomes pledges by members of Congress to boycott Thursday’s joint meeting of Congress honoring India’s far-right, anti-Muslim Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Cair’s research and advocacy director, Corey Saylor, said: “Leaders do the right thing in the face of pressure to comply with bad ethics. Boycotting any event honoring Prime Minister Modi centers our value of religious freedom over cynical politics. We applaud these elected officials and urge others to join their leadership.”

It’s shameful that Modi has been given a platform at our nation’s capital—his long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable. I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress. — Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 20, 2023

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will boycott Prime Minister Modi's joint address to Congress. pic.twitter.com/DICpt7StvF — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) June 21, 2023

Saylor added: “The honor of a state dinner and joint meeting of Congress signals to Modi that no one will interfere in his repression of Indian religious minorities and journalists.”

Modi was once denied a visa to visit the US by the state department in 2005 because of his violent persecution of minority faiths in Gujarat, where he served as chief minister.

More recently, anti-Muslim policy and violence in India and in Indian communities abroad have ramped up under Modi.

In 2019, citing militancy in the region, Modi stripped Kashmir – India’s only Muslim-majority state – of its constitutional autonomy in what was seen as an effort to make India a Hindu-first nation, eroding the pluralistic and secular reputation for which the country was once known.

That same year, the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed, amending the country’s citizenship law so that naturalization could be expedited for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but not Muslims. As a result, violent clashes broke out in 2020 in the capital city of New Delhi. About 50 people were killed, most of whom were Muslim.

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Modi’s government has also been accused by rights groups of turning a blind eye to the violence committed against Muslim cow farmers by rightwing Hindutva vigilantes with the aim of protecting cows, a holy animal in Hinduism.

Tlaib, who is one of only three Muslim members serving in the House, said: “It’s shameful that Modi has been given a platform at our nation’s capital – his long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable. I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.”

A letter was also signed by 75 Democrats, detailing the human rights violations under Modi and urging Biden to “discuss the full range of issues important to a successful, strong, and long-term relationship between our two great countries”.

Modi’s visit to the US is seen as an attempt by both countries to forge closer ties so the south Asian country can stop relying on Russia for military arms as it continues to wage war against Ukraine.

It is also speculated that Modi is using this US visit to repair his image after receiving several global “flawed democracy” ratings .

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Explained: How Pakistan’s ISI is plotting to disrupt PM Modi’s historic state visit to the US

PM Modi is all set to embark on his maiden state visit to the United States. There are reports that Pakistan’s ISI is conspiring to disrupt the trip. The agency is believed to have held meetings with anti-India and Khalistani groups to hold protests and make hashtags like #ModiNotWelcome go viral

The energy in New Delhi and Washington is high. It’s just a matter of few hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fly off to the United States and begin his first ever state visit, starting 22 June. This is the sixth time PM Modi will be visiting America, but it’s his first state visit and also the first since 2009 that an Indian leader has been accorded such an honour.

Ahead of his trip, which will conclude on 24 June, and he will jet off to Egypt , there’s excitement and happiness, with thousands of enthusiastic Indian-Americans gathering at iconic locations across 20 US cities and organising unity marches to send a message of welcome to the PM. Even several American leaders have expressed their happiness and enthusiasm over Modi’s visit to Washington during which he is also likely to sign two major defence deals.

Also read: Why PM’s sixth visit to the US is even more significant than past trips

But amid this hype and hoopla, authorities are also strengthening the security, as there’s intel emerging that there are attempts by Pakistan’s Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to disrupt the visit.

What exactly is their plan? How does the Pakistan agency propose to disturb Modi’s first ever state visit? We reveal what’s going on.

Pakistan’s plan to disrupt Modi visit

Reports citing intelligence sources say that the ISI has held several meetings with pro-Khalistan organisations working on US soil as well as several groups working against India. The ISI, according to these sources, have provided these Khalistani and anti-India groups with money in order to plan and organise rallies during Modi’s visit to Washington.

It is important to note here that the Khalistani movement is alive and kicking in the United States and one of their most recent activities was the defacing of the wall of the Indian consulat e in San Francisco, during the hunt for Amritpal Singh .

In 2021, top American think tank, Hudson Institute, had published a report titled ‘Pakistan’s Destabilization Playbook: Khalistani Activism in the US’ stating how these groups were building a stronger base in America. “Unless the US government prioritises oversight of Khalistan-related militancy and terrorism, it is unlikely to identify groups that are currently engaged in violence in Punjab in India or are preparing to do so. One seldom finds what one is not looking for,” it had said in its report.

Reuters has reported that the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) will hold protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For the unaware, the IAMC, as per its website, is the “largest advocacy organisation of Indian Muslims in the US”.

According to a report published by The Sunday Guardian , the IAMC is a well-known arm of the Pakistan deep state. It has relentlessly targeted India on matters such as human rights, religious freedom.

Apart from this, intel sources also told news agencies that there are plans to wave anti-Modi posters along the routes that he would travel while in the United States. Moreover, buses have also been scheduled to transport those who have been assigned charge of the demonstration to its location.

The ISI has also reportedly hired people to make anti-Modi trends go viral on Twitter before his US visit. Hashtags like #ModiNotWelcome and #SaveIndiafromHinduSupremacy have been created to fuel anti-Modi and anti-India rhetoric ahead of his US visit.

#ModiNotWelcome Damn 😳, a 5 member's so-called "big rally" in support of Modi.. https://t.co/msgmRwJJai — FartnRoses (@NitroRCX1) June 19, 2023

In New York, there’s also a ‘Howdy Democracy’ event being organised on 21 June – the same day that PM Modi will land in New York and head the International Yoga Day celebrations at the UN headquarters. The event, according to one of the organisers is being held “to highlight growing injustice” in India.

It hasn’t been revealed if the ISI has any links to this event or any other protest, but it won’t come as a total surprise if the Pakistani agency has links to them.

How Pak views Indo-US ties

Modi’s US visit is not only being spoken of in India and in the US, but is also being closely watched by Pakistan. Islamabad, as experts believe, isn’t happy with the growing ties between the two countries even though their ministers state otherwise.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif was quoted as saying that Islamabad did “not have any problem” with the United States deepening its ties with India, provided it does not come at the cost of Pakistan.”

“I think we do not have any problem with the United States developing a partnership with India if it is not at the cost of Pakistan,” Khawaja Asif added. The minister said Pakistan wanted good relationships with its neighbours and regional partners. “We have common borders with China, we have common borders with Afghanistan, Iran, India. We would like to improve our relationships with them if the relationship is not good. We want to live in peace. If there is no peace there, we will never be able to restore our economy the way we want to restore it,” he said.

Modi’s high-profile US visit

Modi is scheduled to arrive in New York on 21 June where he will lead the International Yoga Day celebrations from the UN headquarters. From there, the PM will travel to Washington for a state visit – which will see him not only receiving a 21-gun salute but also a grand affair at the White House for which tickets have already been sold out.

Also read: Yoga, meal with the Bidens, meet with CEOs: PM Modi’s packed days during US visit

Modi will also address the joint session of US Congress – to join the club of handful of world leaders who have addressed the US legislature twice.

On 23 June, Modi will also address an invitation-only gathering of diaspora leaders from across the country at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. Modi’s event with the Indian diaspora will focus on their role in “India’s growth story”.

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian ambassador to the United States, said on Modi’s US trip, “There is much excitement in the air. You would have seen messages, statements of welcome from governors. Members of the Senate, House, state legislators, industry, academia, think tanks and of course the Indian-American community stretching from across the US from Hawaii to Alaska, all parts of the US. The visit will have a ceremonial as well as a substantive aspect which will complement each other.”

With inputs from agencies

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A hug and high tea: Indian PM makes surprise visit to Pakistan

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Krishna N. Das ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on Friday to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited the rival nation in over a decade. The visit, requested by Modi just hours earlier before he flew back home from Afghanistan, raised hopes that stop-and-start negotiations between the nuclear-armed neighbors might finally make progress after three wars and more than 65 years of hostility. Sharif hugged Modi after he landed at the airport in the eastern city of Lahore and the two left by helicopter for Sharif's nearby family estate. "So, you have finally come," Sharif told Modi, according to a Pakistani foreign ministry official who was at the meeting. "Yes, absolutely. I am here," Modi replied, according to the official. Modi phoned Sharif earlier in the day to wish him on his birthday and asked if he could make a stop in Pakistan on his way home, Pakistan's top diplomat, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, told reporters. "And the PM said to him, 'Please come, you are our guest, please come and have tea with me'," he said. It was Sharif's 66th birthday and the family home was festooned with lights for his grand-daughter's wedding on Saturday. Modi and Sharif talked for about 90 minutes and shared an early evening meal before the Indian leader flew back home. "Among the decisions taken was that ties between the two countries would be strengthened and also people-to-people contact would be strengthened so that the atmosphere can be created in which the peace process can move forward," Chaudhry said. The next step will be for the two countries' foreign secretaries to meet in the middle of next month, he added. Modi was on his way back from a visit to Russia. He stopped off in the Afghan capital Kabul earlier on Friday, where he inaugurated a new parliament complex built with Indian help. The Lahore visit comes after India and Pakistan resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation between Sharif and Modi at climate change talks in Paris late last month, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by militant attacks and long-standing distrust. A spokesman at Sharif's office earlier told Reuters the two leaders were to discuss a range of bilateral issues, including the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, the most contentious issue dividing the nuclear-armed rivals. A close aide to Modi said the visit was a spontaneous decision by the prime minister and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and that it should not be seen as a sudden shift in India's position. "But yes, it's a clear signal that active engagement can be done at a quick pace," the aide said, declining to be identified. DEEP MISTRUST Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep. Modi's visit is the first by an Indian prime minister to Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed in the Indian city by militants trained in Pakistan. The two countries were born out of British colonial India in 1947, divided into Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan. Modi, a Hindu nationalist, came to power in 2014, and has authorized a more robust approach to Pakistan, giving security forces the license to retaliate forcefully along their disputed border and demanding an end to insurgent attacks in Indian territory. In Afghanistan, many believe that Islamabad sponsors the Taliban insurgency to weaken the Kabul government and limit the influence of India. Pakistan rejects the accusation but it has struggled to turn around perceptions in Afghanistan, where social media users sent out a stream of glowing commentary on Modi's visit, contrasting the parliament building with the destruction wrought by Taliban suicide bombers. Nalin Kohli, a spokesman for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, said in New Delhi that India was ready to take two steps forward if Pakistan took one to improve ties. The opposition Congress Party called Modi's visit irresponsible and said that nothing had happened to warrant warming of ties between the rivals. Scheduled high-level talks between the two were canceled in August after ceasefire violations across the border. "If the decision is not preposterous then it is utterly ridiculous," Congress leader Manish Tewari said. Opening the parliament building in Kabul, Modi pledged India's support for the Afghan government and urged regional powers, including Pakistan, to work together to foster peace. "We know that Afghanistan's success will require the cooperation and support of each of its neighbors," he said. "And all of us in the region - India, Pakistan, Iran and others – must unite in trust and cooperation behind the common purpose and in recognition of our common destiny." As well as the parliament building, India is also supplying three Russian-made Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan's small air force, adding badly needed capacity to provide close air support to its hard-pressed security forces. (Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in LAHORE; James Mackenzie in KABUL, Rupam Jain Nair and Sankalp Phartiyal in NEW DELHI; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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At PM Meet, Kamala Harris's Message To Pak: 'Shouldn't Impact US, India'

Pm modi in us: according to foreign secretary harsh vardhan shringla, kamala harris agreed that india had been a victim of terrorism for several decades..

According to Foreign Secretary, Kamala Harris agreed that there were terror groups operating in Pakistan.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, in her first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi , brought up Pakistan's role in terrorism and asked Islamabad to take action so it does not impact America and India's security.

According to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Kamala Harris agreed that India had been a victim of terrorism for several decades and that there was "a need to rein in, and closely monitor, Pakistan's support for such terrorist groups".

The Prime Minister had an hour-long meeting Thursday at the White House with Kamala Harris, who has Indian roots. The discussions focused on cementing the Indo-US strategic partnership and global issues of common interest, including threats to democracy, Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific.

"When the issue of terrorism came up, the Vice President suo motu referred to Pakistan's role in that regard (of terrorism)," the Foreign Secretary told reporters when asked if Pakistan's role in terrorism came up.

Ms Harris, he said, agreed that there were terror groups operating in Pakistan. "She asked Pakistan to take action so that this will not impact on US security and that of India. She agreed with the Prime Minister's briefing on the fact of cross border terrorism, and the fact that India has been a victim of terrorism for several decades now and on the need to rein in, and closely monitor Pakistan's support for such terrorist groups," Mr Shringla said.

In another significant comment, Ms Harris also said it is incumbent on the two nations to protect democratic principles and institutions at home and around the world.

"As democracies around the world are under threat, it is imperative that we defend democratic principles and institutions within our respective countries and around the world. And that we maintain what we must do to strengthen democracies at home and it is incumbent on our nations to of course protect democracies in the best interests of people of our countries," she said.

She is the third senior US leader after the Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin to speak of the need to protect democratic values.

PM Modi and Ms Harris had earlier spoken on the phone in June, when India was battling a massive surge in Covid .

The Prime Minister, recalling their interaction, described Ms Harris as an "inspiration for many across the world", a "true friend" and someone who spoke "like family" and said he would always remember it.

"One of our interactions happened when India was battling a very tough wave of COVID-19 infections. I recall your kind words of solidarity that time," PM Modi said.

"Like a family, the sense of kinship and so warmly, you extended a helping hand, the words that you chose when you spoke to me, I will always remember that, and I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Like a true friend, you had given a message of cooperation, and were very full of sensitivity and immediately after that we found that the US government, the US corporate sector and the Indian community, all came together to help India."

The Prime Minister also said "India and America are natural partners" with similar values, similar geopolitical interests.

"The oldest democracy and the largest democracy...we are indeed natural partners, we have similar values," he said.

The Vice President also referred to the need for "free and open Indo-Pacific region" at a time the US is trying to strengthen ties with allies to counter China's aggressive moves in the region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.

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The two leaders wore masks as they both spoke in front of reporters from both India and the US.

The Prime Minister invited the 56-year-old Democratic leader and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff to visit India.

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Indian Prime Minister Modi’s Visit to Washington Is His Most Important So Far. Here’s What to Know

O n Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden will meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on an official state visit in Washington D.C, which includes a South Lawn welcome, a state dinner, and an address to a joint session of Congress—an honor rarely granted to a visiting foreign leader. Modi will become just the third world leader, after France’s Emmanuel Macron and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol, to receive this kind of diplomatic reception from President Biden.

While Modi has visited the U.S. many times—most recently for a three-day visit in September 2021, where he held a bilateral meeting with Biden—this will be the first time the Prime Minister’s trip will be categorized as the highest ranked visit according to diplomatic protocol. (The last state visit to the U.S. by an Indian leader was by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2009.)

As India takes center stage as the world’s most populous country , one of the fastest growing economies, and a powerhouse for tech and innovation, the Biden Administration hopes it can court the country as a crucial ally to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Read More: How India’s Record-Breaking Population Will Shape the World

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“The visit will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defense, clean energy, and space,” the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement .

Below, what to know about the upcoming visit.

What are the top priorities for Modi’s state visit?

The state visit will include conversations aimed at further cementing an already-growing defense and manufacturing relationship between the U.S. and India. More recently, Washington and New Delhi have been engaged in discussions about jointly producing jet engines, long-range artillery, and military vehicles. In May, India joined Biden’s 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which primarily aims to reduce China’s economic dominance through manufacturing, but without drawing up a formal trade agreement. Now, American company General Electric is hoping to co-produce military jets in the country, while the U.S. has increased investment in a semiconductor and chip manufacturing ecosystem set in India as a way to decrease dependence on Chinese manufacturing.

“The United States has really oriented a lot of its domestic and foreign policy around this question of, ‘how do we counter the Chinese challenge?’” says Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at Carnegie. “So if you think about semiconductors and chip manufacturing, India is a big player right now.”

In the weeks leading up to Modi’s visit, both the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have also made trips to New Delhi in an attempt to cut through the red tape to secure deals.

Read More: What Modi’s Visit to Washington Tells Us About Indian American Voters

This week, Reuters reported that India was inching closer to buying more than two dozen U.S.-made armed drones worth $2 to $3 billion to help enhance border surveillance and improve counterterrorism intelligence operations. The development comes after Sullivan, along with India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, unveiled an ambitious roadmap for Indo-U.S. collaboration in specific high-technology areas, including semiconductors, next-generation telecommunication, artificial intelligence and defense.

For India, striking deals with the U.S. will in turn strengthen the country’s hard power capabilities and make it a hotbed for innovation. “They are hoping to get more U.S. dollars, more U.S. companies, and more U.S. entrepreneurs to make India a central part of their growth and expansion plans,” says Vaishnav.

Why do the U.S. and India want to counter China?

Experts say both countries see their strategic interests converge in countering China’s threat as it becomes more expansionist and ambitious on the global stage. For the U.S., China has increasingly become its biggest competitor in the spheres of influence, while India has been embroiled in territorial disputes in the Himalayas ever since it fought a brief war with China in 1962.

In 2020, tensions between India and China flared when Beijing became more assertive over land claims along the shared Himalayan border and an altercation between Indian and Chinese military forces in the northern Indian region of Ladakh reportedly left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. China’s close ties to Pakistan has also resulted in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as part of the Belt and Road Initiative and controversially passes through a section of Kashmir controlled by Islamabad, adding to India’s concerns.

By helping India build up its economic and defense capabilities, Washington hopes to coordinate with New Delhi to tackle global challenges as part of its long-term interests, says Vaishnav. “Washington is really looking to create a framework of deterrence to essentially deter Chinese expansionism, and they view India as a linchpin in this strategy,” he says.

How has the relationship between India and the U.S. changed?

Relations between India and the U.S. have changed in notable ways over the years. After independence from British rule in 1947, India was more closely aligned with Russia during the Cold War era due to U.S. distrust and estrangement over India’s nuclear program, while the U.S. had a stronger partnership with India’s rival, Pakistan.

The two countries remained “estranged democracies,” according to the former U.S. Ambassador, Dennis Kux, until the early 1990s. However, since the early 2000s, U.S. administrations from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump have worked to build a strong relationship with India, recognizing its potential to be a strategic partner in ensuring the security of the Indo-Pacific region.

In 2005, India and the U.S. signed a major nuclear deal under which India was recognized de facto as a nuclear weapons power. More recently, India’s participation in the Quad, a security alliance between the U.S. and its allies, Australia, Japan and India, has led to the country becoming a critical element of American defense strategy.

Last year, the two countries conducted joint military exercises not far from the disputed Indo-China border, and in May, joined Biden’s 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which officials and business executives hope will reduce American reliance on Chinese manufacturing for mutual benefit, including increased iPhone shipments from Indian-based factories.

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Modi’s Trip to Washington Marks New Heights in U.S.-India Ties

What’s behind the dramatic increase in strategic cooperation? One word: China.

By: Sameer P. Lalwani, Ph.D. ;   Daniel Markey, Ph.D. ;   Tamanna Salikuddin ;   Vikram J. Singh

Publication Type: Analysis

Against the backdrop of tightening U.S.-India ties, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Washington this week for an official state visit — only the third President Joe Biden has hosted since taking office. The bilateral relationship has soared to new heights in recent years, particularly on economic, technological and defense issues. Underpinning these developments is both sides’ desire to counter China’s effort to project power and influence across the Indo-Pacific region. While Washington and New Delhi have their disagreements on issues like Russia’s war on Ukraine and human rights, they see the relationship as too strategically vital to be jeopardized by these differences.

USIP’s Tamanna Salikuddin, Vikram Singh, Sameer Lalwani and Daniel Markey analyze the significance of this visit, the difficult issues that will be on the table, and how China will factor will into the leaders’ discussions.

What is the significance of the state visit for both the United States and for India?

Salikuddin: Modi’s visit will be filled with substantive and ceremonial events, including a South Lawn welcome, a state dinner and an address to a joint session of Congress. While Modi has visited the United States several times, this will be his first state visit, demonstrating the depth of the bilateral U.S.-India relationship, which Biden has described as the “defining relationship” of the 21st century. Per the White House’s official announcement , “the visit will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defense, clean energy, and space.”

While none of the official statements mention China, this visit is all about China. As U.S.-China competition is only becoming more intense and the Biden administration identifies China as its “pacing” challenge, India is one of the most important partners for the United States in its Indo-Pacific policy. While India actively counters China on its northern border, its deepening relationship with the United States make it part of the bulwark of nations committed to countering Beijing’s malign influence.

Beyond the convergence on China, India and the United States are seeking deeper ties on economic, defense and technological grounds. This visit is significant in cementing the partnership, and no detail is being left unchecked with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visiting New Delhi in the last few weeks. This visit and the broader high-level U.S.-India engagements this year — including Biden’s planned trip to New Delhi in the fall — are a high-water mark in the bilateral relationship. Coming 18 years after the historic U.S.-India civil nuclear deal, these engagements highlight the remarkable progress that has been made in terms of expanding economic, social, technological and defense aspects of the U.S.-India relationship.

As Modi departed India, he reaffirmed the significance of the trip: “I am confident that my visit to the [U.S.] will reinforce our ties based on shared values of democracy, diversity, and freedom. Together we stand stronger in meeting the shared global challenges.”

What are the difficult topics that might be on the table, and how are Biden and Modi likely to navigate these?

Singh: Biden and Modi are determined to take U.S.-India relations to a new level with this visit, and part of having a mature strategic partnership is the ability to tackle difficult issues and areas of disagreement.

Issues that get a lot of media attention include policy differences on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and issues of human rights and democracy. More below-the-radar are key regional challenges like Afghanistan and Myanmar ; enduring difficulties in a bilateral trade agenda; and finding a way to cooperate more on global governance, especially regulation of technology and the digital economy.

India will also seek progress in easing visas for Indian citizens, especially student visas and H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, and U.S. commitments to greater technology sharing needed to implement the high-tech cooperation the leaders have rolled out.

A major change over the past decade is that the United States and India can now disagree on some issues and continue to work together on a large shared agenda. Given the strong personal bond Biden and Modi seem to have developed, expect them to be direct and forthright with one another in private and broadly supportive and celebratory in public.

On issues like Ukraine, intense private consultations will likely touch on assessments of the state of the conflict and the need to ensure Putin does not turn to nuclear weapons. Biden may seek Modi’s assessment of Putin and possible paths Russia might take to end the war. On Afghanistan, Modi and Biden may share assessments of Taliban, al-Qaida, ISIS and Pakistan-based militant threats since the U.S. withdrawal. India has kept a small diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and may encourage the United States to engage more actively to partner in preventing terrorism in and from the region.

Democracy and human rights, which get the most media attention, will not be avoided, but expect a similar pragmatic approach. U.S. leaders are concerned about democracy everywhere — including at home. Biden has taken an inclusive view that all democracies face challenges and that leaders of democracies should work together to improve durable democratic development. That will likely be the approach with India. U.S. leaders will welcome public comments or gestures from Modi in support of pluralistic democracy, but do not believe that lecturing India on these issues can be effective. A logical takeaway is that the United States will handle human rights concerns with India more like it does with a country like Poland.

First and foremost, Biden and Modi both pursue the interests of their own citizens, and they seem to understand each other on this basis. For Modi, this means development and meeting the basic needs of 1.4 billion people by transforming India into a modern, global technology powerhouse that competes with China. For Biden it means rebuilding the American middle class and maintaining America’s global leadership. Underneath the lofty rhetoric about two great democracies, these leaders see pragmatic benefits for their own people coming from deeper social, economic, political and security ties. They will manage the hard stuff to protect those gains.

How might the outcomes of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s recent trip to India shape conversations on defense and technology?

Lalwani: Austin’s trip to New Delhi two weeks ago helped finalize agreements and set the table for Modi’s historic state visit to Washington. The 2022 U.S. National Defense Strategy called for more technology cooperation with allies and partners, which produced greater technology-sharing mechanisms with Australia (through the AUKUS deal with the United Kingdom) as well as with Japan . Now the United States appears poised to take some unprecedented steps toward the third partner in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, India.

U.S. technology cooperation with India is likely to include co-production and technology sharing of General Electric engines , which will be used in Indian military fighter jets to deter and defend against China. Additional Defense Department efforts involve a defense industrial cooperation roadmap to expedite co-production of military equipment; new programs to network both countries entrepreneurs, research labs, industry, and venture capital fueling defense innovations over the medium term; and enhanced scientific collaboration on emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and robotics.

The strategic result will be twofold — enhanced Indian deterrence and greater trust in U.S.-India defense collaboration. First, in the near to medium term, India will be able to augment its military capabilities to defend against Chinese aggression, which ratcheted up with the Galwan crisis and clashes during the summer of 2020. The defense industrial roadmap involves four focus areas for fast-tracking technology cooperation: air combat and land mobility systems; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); munitions; and the undersea domain awareness (UDA).

As India is able to quickly develop better ISR assets, it will be able to identify the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) maneuvers or gray zone incursions on their disputed continental border much earlier. Similarly, better UDA will enable India to better discern and track Chinese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean, and share that data with friends and partners. With both, detection will play a critical role in deterrence. Greater land mobility systems will help India to quickly surge forces and supplies to flashpoints along the disputed border with China, while longer range munitions can threaten to interdict PLA supply lines in the event of a conflict.

The second expected result of this technology sharing effort can be greater mutual trust in order to enhance collaboration in the Indo-Pacific. The trust generated from top-down and bottom-up technology cooperation may be less tangible yet is more significant. India has made no secret of its decades-long desire for a high-technology partnership, and the great lengths the U.S. government has gone to fulfill this deserve serves as a costly signal of its commitment and reliability. With this mutual trust, both partners will be better able to engage in more advanced joint assessments, contingency planning, and exercises as they prepare to backstop each other, interoperate together, and share the burdens of deterring aggression and securing the Indo-Pacific commons.

What are the most pressing issues the United States and India will be focused on when it comes to China?

Markey: The bedrock for cooperation between the United States and India lies in a shared interest in deterring Chinese territorial aggression and challenging the extension of China’s political influence and military presence in India’s backyard.

The most immediate concern is along the Line of Actual Control, the contested China-India land border, where China has made vast investments in military infrastructure that have already enabled it to push India from former patrolling points and could, in a worst-case scenario, even enable large-scale incursions into Indian territory. U.S. officials are eager to help India reinforce its own capacity to deter and defend against such attacks, as they pose a genuine near-term threat to Indian security and represent a dangerous precedent that could intimidate other less powerful states across the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. defense sales to India are intended to fill immediate capability gaps (for instance, to improve border surveillance with U.S.-made drones ) as well as to co-manufacture future weapon systems (such as fighter jet engines ).

Also of concern to both Washington and New Delhi is the rapid growth of China’s navy. Although China’s military is disproportionately focused on challenges along the nation’s eastern seaboard, especially Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, the rapid modernization and expansion of its fleet enables operations across the Indian Ocean as well. U.S. officials aim to explore cooperative ventures with India that will enable better monitoring of and response to Chinese maritime activities.

Finally, whereas in the past Indian officials jealously perceived U.S. involvement in South Asia as a threat to India’s regional hegemony, now New Delhi is increasingly eager to see Washington play an active economic and political role in neighboring states across the region, such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as a means to counterbalance Chinese influence.

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Pakistan summons US embassy staff over Biden-Modi statement

The move comes after India and the US said Pakistan’s soil should not be used as a base for attacks by armed groups.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry has summoned the United States embassy’s deputy chief of mission to express concern over a statement last week by US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that called on Pakistan to ensure its territory was not used as a base for attacks by armed groups.

The US-India statement was released after a meeting between Biden and Modi at the White House on Friday and received criticism from Pakistan, which called it contrary to diplomatic norms.

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“It was stressed that the United States should refrain from issuing statements that may be construed as an encouragement of India’s baseless and politically motivated narrative against Pakistan,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement on Monday.

“It was also emphasised that counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US had been progressing well and that an enabling environment, centred around trust and understanding, was imperative to further solidifying Pakistan-US ties.”

US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters in a daily news briefing that Pakistan had taken important steps to counter armed groups, but said Washington advocated for more to be done.

“At the same time, however, we have also been consistent on the importance of Pakistan continuing to take steps to permanently dismantle all terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] and Jaish-e-Mohammad [Jaish-e-Muhammad or JeM], and their various front organisations and we will raise the issue regularly with Pakistani officials,” he said.

LeT is the group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which more than 160 people were killed, while JeM claimed responsibility for a 2019 bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been fraught for years. Since independence from Britain in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

Pakistan’s army on Saturday claimed two civilians were killed by Indian forces in firing across the Line of Control, the de facto border in Kashmir, the first such conflict since a ceasefire in 2021 between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours.

India says Pakistan helps armed groups battling Indian security forces in its part of Kashmir since the late 1980s. Pakistan denies the accusation and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination.

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View from the neighbourhood | From Modi’s US visit to a colossal Greek tragedy: What the Pakistani media is talking about

A weekly wrap-up of the issues being discussed and debated in india’s neighbourhood.

Modi-Biden partnership and the Uniform Civil Code question

This week, there were two events of note with respect to India. The first was PM Narendra Modi ’s visit to the US from June 20 to June 24 and the second was the Law Commission’s solicitation of views from the public as well as prominent religious organisations on the issue of a Uniform Civil Code.

The common points of discussion were, first, the reason for America wooing India and second, the joint statement issued by PM Modi and President Joe Biden that included a call to Pakistan to control militancy.

News International (June 24) said, “the West looks at India as an economic and geo-strategic partner, especially when it comes to creating some sort of bulwark against China.” On the militancy issue in the US-India joint statement, the editorial said, “Pakistan should raise the issue of the joint statement at the highest forums because the language used against Pakistan may not be new but it is insulting… Pakistan has presented evidence of Indian involvement in terrorist activities but the world has turned a blind eye to that as well as the blatant human rights violations in Indian-Occupied Kashmir and India itself.”

Dawn (June 24) agrees saying, “While Pakistan has had a problem with militancy, the critique would have carried more weight had the Biden administration also brought up India’s deplorable treatment of its Muslims, and its long subjugation of Kashmir.” Express Tribune (June 24) believes that the joint statement showed “Washington was harping to the tune from India”. Most importantly, speaking from the international relations perspective, “India’s inking of big-ticket projects… has cemented a decade of neo-World Order in Asia.”

On the Law Commission’s solicitation of comments on a Uniform Civil Code, Express Tribune (June 23) says, “there is some legitimate criticism of the separate systems because, within the minority groups, the laws still take on a majoritarian appearance”. The Tribune encouraged participation of minority groups in formulating this legislation saying, “the government is taking a softer approach on this issue… it may be worth it for religious groups to actually participate and try to influence rule changes — or limit change — instead of complaining from the outside.”

Blinken in China

On the international front, the main topic of discussion has been US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China earlier this week. The overall narrative around this meeting is hopeful as it seeks to put two superpowers on the same page.

The Nation (June 20) focuses on trade as an important part of collaboration among the US and China saying, “By engaging in constructive dialogue, both nations have the opportunity to find common ground… and establish a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship.” Other than that, “addressing security concerns, and collaborating on global challenges are imperative for both nations”. Express Tribune (June 22) emphasises the importance of bilateral relations between US and China for the rest of the world saying, “A lot of thinking is required at all fora of interaction as this bilateralism has a profound impact on world’s peace and security.” According to Tribune, “The world economy cannot be saved from a renewed recession until and unless a common denominator is found by Beijing and Washington.”

Dawn (June 22) examines the points of contention and Taiwan ’s territorial issue as the “lightning rod” saying, “Both sides have been exchanging increasingly combative rhetoric over Taiwan, and recent visits by senior US officials to Taipei saw the mainland fuming.” Even so, the underlying concern for Pakistan is the stability of relations between US and China since “Policymakers in Islamabad should be particularly concerned about the US-China rivalry degenerating into an open conflict, as China remains an economic and strategic partner, while US-Pakistan ties, though not ideal, are also important.”

A colossal Greek boat tragedy

The most shocking news this week was the sinking of a fishing boat off the coast of Pylos in Greece on June 14, carrying an estimated 750 people onboard. Of the 750, around 350 people were Pakistani. About 100 have died and 80 have been rescued so far — 500 others remain missing.

The media collectively demands accountability from foreign authorities for their negligence and from their own government for creating such terrible conditions that forced so many to resort to migration in dangerous ways. They are calling for “immediate action against those who facilitate illegal human trafficking” (The Nation, June 20).

Dawn (June 19) states, “the absence of help by the coastal authorities is part and parcel of Europe’s larger xenophobic policy that aims to keep migrants out.” But “Fortress Europe alone cannot be blamed for why people in developing countries, such as Pakistan, choose to leave.” Daily Times (June 21) says, “[it] is a stark reminder to the state that it has altogether failed to provide its people what they need to lay their roots at home.”

News International (June 20) and The Nation (June 20) focused on the discrimination faced by Pakistanis. The Nation notes, “Certain nationalities, particularly Pakistanis, were forced into the most dangerous part of the ship where they experienced suffocation caused by overcrowding and were left thirsty as drinking water had reportedly finished.” News International added that “Survivors have also alleged that the inaction of the Greek authorities helped cause the incident and that they refused to help despite the presence of several ships at the location.” The editorial concludes by saying that “There is no excuse — legal, moral or other — to allow vulnerable and exploited people to just drown at sea.”

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Today's Paper | June 01, 2024

Modi throws a fit, then meditates for two days in last phase of polls.

NEW DELHI: The last vote in the seven phase elections is being cast today and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be waking from his two-day deep meditation to catch the exit polls in the evening, which the opposition assert would be falsely flagging victory for him.

The heavily guarded seclusion on the southernmost tip of India follows a spate of angry curses the prime minister unleashed on his opponents during election speeches in Bihar and Punjab.

The exit polls are expected after the last voting machine is sealed for the counting of the votes on June 4, and Mr Modi would have to wait for that many days for official endorsement or, not entirely unexpected, rejection of his victory claim.

Neither Mr Modi nor his ministers have minced words about a landslide victory they foresee, crossing even Rajiv Gandhi’s 400 plus, but opposition parties and well-regarded pollsters claim the outcome is likely to spell serious loss of seats for the BJP, which had a tally of 303 in the last polls.

Indians to cast vote for 57 seats in final phase today

The battleground states where Mr Modi has faced a discernible challenge are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Reports from the widely trusted betting markets say the BJP would get a comfortable 330 seats on its own, a majority not different from those forecast persistently by TV channels before the polls began.

The characteristically publicised meditation spurred a massive security drill involving speedboats and drones with a complete ban on tourists to visit the fabled rock by the sea at Kanyakumari. Swami Vivekanand, a celebrated Hindu seer and religious revivalist sat in silence there in 1893. He left for Chicago from there on May 31.

Worry has been expressed about national security during the meditation as the PM holds the nuclear command. When former prime minister Manmohan Singh had surgery that required general anesthesia, he deputed his defence minister to stand in for him. That doesn’t seem to have happened here.

The last phase involves 57 seats of the 543 that make up the Lok Sabha. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of alliance leaders on Saturday to set up the post poll arrangement for transparent counting of votes. Informed sources said the alliance could also discuss the likely threat from horse-trading they fear from the cash-rich ruling party should its alliance fall short.

The din and clamour of the election is discernible on both sides. The TV channels see a clear victory for Mr Modi. A bevy of YouTube-based channels see a net loss for the BJP.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav asked his party workers and candidates to remain vigilant. In an appeal on X, Mr Yadav wrote, “All of you should remain fully alert, vigilant, and cautious during the voting on Saturday and also in the days after the voting, till the counting of votes is over and you receive the certificate of victory. Do not get misled by the BJP.”

In the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections, polling will be held in 13 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Modi has also been lampooned by Priyanka Gandhi and other leaders for claiming that the Congress would steal one of two buffaloes and the mangalsutra of Hindu women to give them to Muslims. He has described the Con­gress manifesto as a Muslim League document without explai­ning the charge.

In his last outing in Hoshiarpur in Punjab, where all 13 seats are to be decided in the last phase, Mr Modi threatened to expose the opposition leaders if they didn’t stop targeting him. “Don’t mess with Modi,” he shouted, hours before flying off to Kanyakumari.

Earlier, in Bihar, he openly threatened to jail 24-year-old cha­llenger Tejashvi Yadav, who has been drawing massive crowds without troubling his father Lalu Yadav to campaign in the searing heat. Lawyers said it was an open signal that Mr Modi controlled the federal agencies though he denies it.

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Potential India-Pakistan war signalled as Modi’s election rhetoric grows more worrying

Narendra modi mocks neighbour’s nuclear capabilities as home minister vows to ‘take back’ kashmir.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, in a white waistcoat, and Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, greet supporters from a vehicle during a roadshow in Varanasi. Photograph: Rajesh Kumar/AP

As the fifth of seven rounds of voting in India ’s staggered general elections gets under way this week, the campaign rhetoric from prime minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seeking a third consecutive term in office, has attained a worrying pitch.

At election rallies across the country, federal home minister Amit Shah, the prime minister’s closest confidant and India’s second most powerful official, has threatened “decisive action” if re-elected against neighbour Pakistan , to “recover” the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir it seized 77 years ago.

Shah declared that despite Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal, India would act to “take back” the one-third portion of Kashmir that the Pakistani army and armed Pathan tribesmen captured in violation of bilateral agreements, following independence from colonial rule in 1947.

“We have rights over it [Pakistan-administered Kashmir] and we will take proactive steps at the appropriate moment to take it back,” Shah said, signalling the potential for war between the two nuclear-weapon states. “We have set this target”, he said at a rally in eastern Bengal state on May 15th, issuing similar warnings elsewhere, without elaboration.

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Modi has disparaged the opposition Congress Party’s advice that India should engage Pakistan in dialogue to foster peace.

Addressing an election rally in eastern Odisha state on May 11th, he mocked Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities as incompetent and ineffectual and claimed that Islamabad’s penurious state prevented it from “even handling its [nuclear] bombs”. He claimed Pakistan had been looking to sell its nuclear weapons but was unable to find a buyer as they were of poor quality.

India and Pakistan have fought four wars since independence, three of them over Kashmir, which is claimed by both in its entirety. Globally, Kashmir is considered a “nuclear flashpoint” territorial dispute.

Political commentators in India have said invoking Pakistan in their election speeches is part of an Islamophobic agenda by the BJP leadership in its bid to garner votes from India’s majority Hindu community, which comprises about 80 per cent of its more than 1.4 billion people.

The country’s 200-odd million Muslims, making up some 15 per centof the population, have long been targeted by the BJP and its numerous associate religious, social and political organisations, in their collective agenda of propagating Hindutva, or Hindu hegemony.

Media reports have suggested that such anti-Muslim sentiments are also aimed at motivating BJP cadres into energising party supporters, following low voter turnouts in the first four rounds of polling. These have prompted disquiet within the BJP’s hierarchy, disappointed at the party’s apparent inability to securing the landslide majority Modi had projected based on his personal popularity and his administration’s economic and governance record over the past decade. In response, the BJP leadership has opted for a “more robust” anti-Muslim clarion call to attract voters, analysts have said.

Modi has repeatedly warned Hindu voters against electing the Congress Party, claiming it would seize their wealth, land and even jewellery, and distribute it to Muslims. He also says the Congress would favour Muslims over Hindus, under India’s sizeable affirmative action schemes.

At a recent rally in central Madhya Pradesh state Modi urged voters to choose between “Vote jihad” and “Ram Rajya”, or governance dictated by the tenets of the Hindu god Ram, whom he said guided the prime minister in creating a prosperous and just society.

Tens of millions of Hindus worship Ram, and in January Modi had inaugurated a temple built on the god’s birth spot at Ayodhya in north India, on the site of a 16th century mosque flattened by Hindu zealots 32 years ago. This demolition triggered countrywide rioting in which more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, died.

Modi denies demonising Muslims, despite having recently publicly referred to them as “infiltrators”, and as a community that has numerous children. This stems from the BJP’s enduring belief that Muslims produce many more children than Hindus and will eventually subsume them, numerically.

In an interview with CNN-News 18 on May 14th, the prime minister rejected opposition and media allegations of vilifying Muslims, and said he would abandon public life if he ever resorted to sectarianism.

“I will not do Hindu-Muslim [politics]. That is my resolve,” he said in his interview in Hindi, clips of which were posted on X. Asked why he had labelled Muslims as a people with more children than others, the prime minister said he was referring to poor people, who invariably had large families.

However, a day later Modi reverted to Hindu-Muslim politics at a rally in Nashik, western India. He cautioned voters against opposition parties allocating 15 per cent of India’s budget for Muslim welfare, as part of their “divisive” agenda to downgrade Hindus, and urged them to elect the BJP as their protector.

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Guest Essay

I’m an Indian Muslim, and I’m Scared to Say So

By Mohammad Ali

Mr. Ali, a journalist and writer who focuses on right-wing efforts to transform India into a Hindu nation, wrote from Delhi.

I used to answer the phone with “Salam.” Not anymore. I don’t want people to know I’m a Muslim.

There is little that would identify me as Muslim to begin with, aside from my name. I don’t wear a skullcap, and in public I avoid wearing the loosefitting Pathani kurta and peppering my speech with Urdu words, all of which are identity markers for Indian Muslims. But in the India of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, you can’t take any chances.

For 10 years, Mr. Modi’s Hindu-chauvinist government has vilified the nation’s 200 million Muslims as dangerous undesirables. Recently, he took that rhetoric to a new low during the six weeks of voting in India’s national elections — which are widely expected to win him a third consecutive five-year term — directly referring to Muslims as “infiltrators” in a country that he and his followers seek to turn into a pure Hindu state.

As offensive as that was, it is sadly familiar to Indian Muslims like me who — after a decade of denigration, violence and murder — live in daily fear of being identified and attacked, forcing us into self-denial to protect ourselves.

India is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations. Islam came here around 1,300 years ago, and Indian Muslims descend from natives of this land who converted to Islam centuries ago. Many Indian Muslims fought against British colonization, and millions rejected the 1947 partition of the country into a predominantly Hindu India and a mostly Muslim Pakistan. India is our home, and people like me are proud patriots.

But Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalism has made us the targets in what might be the largest radicalization of people on the planet. Its seeds were planted with the founding in 1925 of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing Hindu organization that sought the establishment of a fully Hindu state in India and was inspired by the European fascism of that era. When Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party — a political offshoot of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — won elections in 2014 and he became prime minister, he and his followers saw it as the civilizational moment that Hindus had been waiting for. Mr. Modi was the god-king who would free Hindu civilization from centuries of domination, first by a series of Muslim rulers culminating with the Mughal empire that ruled India for around three centuries and then by the British colonizers who followed.

Islamophobia isn’t new to India, and Muslims also faced prejudice and recurring violence during the generations in which the liberal upper-caste Hindu elite dominated the nation’s secular democratic politics. But under Mr. Modi’s right-wing leadership, hatred of Muslims has effectively become state policy. India is now a country where police have been accused of standing by as Hindus attack Muslims , where the killers of religious minorities go unpunished and where Hindu extremists openly call for the genocide of Muslims.

Protest, and you run the risk of having a Hindu mob unleashed on you. That’s what happened after Mr. Modi’s government in 2019 pushed through a citizenship law that discriminates against Muslims and his party promised to expel “infiltrators” from the country. When Indian Muslims protested, one of Mr. Modi’s supporters responded with a provocative speech that is blamed for sparking deadly clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Delhi in February 2020. Police were accused of looking the other way as Muslims had their shops destroyed, were assaulted and were even killed.

Bulldozers have become a symbol of this state terrorism — rolled out at right-wing rallies, tattooed on the arms of Modi supporters and featured in Hindu nationalist songs — because of their use in areas governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party to illegally knock down the homes and businesses of Muslims who dare to speak up. Some states have essentially made Muslim-Hindu relationships illegal, based on an absurd Hindu conspiracy theory that Muslim men are seducing Hindu women as part of a long-term plan to turn India into a Muslim nation.

The liberal Hindu elite, instead of acknowledging its role in enabling the sentiments on which Mr. Modi has capitalized, has done little to help, other than to ineffectually express nostalgia for a lost Hindu tolerance. And there is little that Indian Muslims can do within the political system: Although the Muslim share of India’s population has slowly grown to 14 percent, the percentage of Parliament members who are Muslim has declined to less than 5 percent today, compared with 9 percent in the early 1980s.

The Indian Muslim response to our subjugation has largely been a deafening silence. Many of us are simply unwilling to speak out against the Modi government’s bitter bargain: that for us to exist as Indian citizens, we must meekly accept historical revisionism, dehumanization and demonization.

This debasement, and the knowledge that you are essentially outside the protection of the law, kills something inside you. You take precautions to protect yourself. My mother no longer packs mutton for me to take back to Delhi after I visit her, as she used to. She’s afraid it will be mistaken for beef: Dozens of Muslims have reportedly been killed or assaulted by Hindu mobs on suspicion of killing cows — which are sacred to Hindus — or for eating or possessing beef. Muslim parents now routinely repeat a litany of don’ts to their children: Don’t appear Muslim in public, don’t reveal your name, don’t enter Hindu areas or travel alone and don’t get pulled into any potential confrontation.

While we caution one another to blend in, it’s difficult to reconcile with the whole thing. Each of us has something embedded in our sense of self and expression that is particularly painful to erase. And the sort of physical markers we are trying to hide are not even wholly specific to Muslims in India. My cousin likes to wear his Pathani kurta, but so do many Hindus. My youngest sister prefers to keep her head covered, but so do many Hindu women, although not with a hijab. I’m attached to using certain Urdu words that have long been a feature of India’s syncretic culture and have been used widely by Hindus, too.

Self-denial leads to deep frustration. Now during gatherings with friends and family, we avoid politics; discussing the elephant in the room only reminds us of our helplessness. The cumulative weight of all this has created a mental health crisis of fear and depression among Muslims. Yet because of a desperate shortage of mental health professionals in India and a limited understanding of our new reality by many non-Muslim therapists, many Muslims are left to cope on their own.

I was hesitant to write this essay. I am not supposed to protest, to speak up. When I sometimes do, posting online about it, the typical response is, “Go to Pakistan.” But why would I leave? I am an Indian. I was born here, as were my ancestors who opposed the religious basis of the partition with Pakistan and believed in the Indian ideals of secular democracy.

But many Muslims have fled over the years, emigrating to Australia, Canada, Britain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia or elsewhere because of the worsening political climate. Many who can’t afford to emigrate are moving out of the predominantly Hindu or mixed neighborhoods where they lived for decades, to poorer Muslim areas for safety. Two of my Muslim friends and I used to own apartments in a suburban area near New Delhi where many upper-caste Hindus lived. But in 2020, after the discriminatory citizenship law was passed, a Hindu mob charged through the neighborhood baying for Muslim blood. My two friends soon moved out. I kept my apartment, but in the elevator one evening in 2022, I overheard two men discussing how many katua (a derogatory term for Muslims that refers to circumcision) lived in the area. I moved out the next day. Sadly, Hindu friends and colleagues of mine also have become colder and more distant and are dropping out of contact.

On June 1, India’s voting period comes to a close. It looms as a day of dread for Muslims like me. According to most projections, it will be another victory for Mr. Modi — and further validation of mob rule and the debasement of 200 million Muslims by a hubristic Hindu majority.

Mohammad Ali (@hindureporter) is an independent journalist and writer who divides his time between New York and India. He is writing a book on growing up in India as Narendra Modi and his party have sought to transform India into a Hindu nation.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Pakistan PM Sharif to Visit China June 4-8, Foreign Ministry Says

FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China from June 4 to 8 on the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Friday.

Chinese investment and financial support since 2013 have been key for the South Asian nation's struggling economy, including the rolling over of loans so that Islamabad is able to meet external financing needs at a time foreign reserves are critically low.

The trip will seek to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a key part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, the foreign office spokesman Mumtaz Baloch said in a press briefing.

"An important aspect of the prime minister's visit will be meetings with corporate executives of leading Chinese companies dealing with oil and gas, energy, ICT and emerging technologies," Baloch said.

Sharif will meet President Xi and hold delegation level talks with Premier Li Qiang, Baloch added.

China has also invested billions in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the $65 billion CPEC plan, but the implementation of various projects has slowed in recent months.

Chinese citizens and interests have been regularly attacked in Pakistan by militants, the most recent of which was the killing of six Chinese engineers in a suicide bombing in March. The engineers were working on a dam in northern Pakistan.

Beijing has pressed Pakistan to guarantee the safety of Chinese organisations and personnel working there.

The announcement of Sharif's visit comes days after Pakistan announced it had arrested 11 Islamist militants involved in the bombing. Islamabad has said the militants operate out of Afghanistan, but Kabul has rejected the charges.

(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sharon Singleton)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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