Modi | Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backtracked from his proposed visit to Malaysia at the weekend to attend an Asean-related summit, joining the discussions “virtually” instead, it was officially announced on Friday. The opposition Congress party blamed the change of plan on Mr Modi’s fear of meeting President Donald Trump. The annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-nation grouping, as well as associated meetings, will be held from Oct 26 to 28 in Kuala Lumpur. The Hindu said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had not provided any reason for Mr Modi’s decision, though the paper quoted Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as saying that Mr Modi had cited the “ongoing Deepavali celebrations” as the reason for the change in plans. The MEA announced that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will represent Mr Modi and lead the Indian delegation at the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 27. Asean is a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy and Asia-Pacific...

United States President Donald Trump has stated that he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a phone call where they talked about having “no wars with Pakistan”. The US president has repeatedly claimed credit for ending the conflict between Pakistan and India earlier this year in May. India has denied the claim that the US president was responsible for brokering the ceasefire via trade threats. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has praised Trump for his “leadership and proactive role” in helping the two neighbours achieve peace in the region. Participating in a Diwali celebration at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he had a “great conversation” with Indian PM Modi over the phone. “We talked about trade — we talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade, he’s very interested in that. Although we did talk a little while ago about let’s have no wars with Pakistan,” he said. “I think the fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that — and we have no war with Pakista...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national alliance faces a tough regional election in the state of Bihar next month, due to youth unemployment and distrust over voter rolls, which could pose risks to his coalition that relies on regional partners. Bihar, in eastern India, is one of the country’s poorest states and its third most populous, with over 130 million people. Its chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has previously sided with both Modi and the opposition, but is currently a key partner in Modi’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The state is part of a politically crucial heartland region and any cracks within the NDA in November’s assembly vote in Bihar could threaten Modi’s coalition, with elections to follow within months in the states of Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. Modi’s national alliance, which has 293 out of 543 seats in the Parliament, has a strong voter base only in Assam. Women are a key voting bloc in tight poll The Vote Vibe agency said its opinion poll in Bihar showed the NDA had a...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a public address on Sunday, asked citizens to stop using foreign-made products and instead use local ones, pushing for a self-reliant campaign when trade ties with the United States have soured. After US President Donald Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on imported Indian goods, Modi has been urging the use of “Swadeshi”, or made-in-India goods. His supporters have started campaigns to boycott American brands, including McDonald’s, Pepsi and Apple, which are hugely popular in India. “A lot of products we use daily are foreign-made, we just don’t know … we will have to get rid of them,” Modi said in an address to the nation ahead of Monday’s implementation of widespread consumer tax cuts. “We should buy products that are made in India,” he added, without naming any country. India’s population of 1.4 billion is a major market for American consumer goods, often purchased from US online retailer Amazon. Over the years, the reach of US brands has expanded deep into smaller...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India and that he would talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a sign a deal may be imminent after weeks of diplomatic friction. Trump, in a marked shift of tone, said he looked forward to speaking to Modi in the “upcoming weeks” and expressed optimism that they could finalise a trade deal. “I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries,” he said in a post on social media. Modi reciprocated the optimism in a social media post on Wednesday, saying Washington and New Delhi “are close friends and natural partners”. He said teams from both countries are working to conclude the trade discussions at the earliest. “I am also looking forward to speaking with President Trump. We will work together to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for both our people,” Modi said. The latest comments from both the leaders drove India’s ...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that New Delhi and Washington still shared “very positive” ties, after US President Donald Trump reaffirmed their personal friendship and downplayed his earlier remarks about “losing India” to China. The exchange comes amid strains after Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian imports, accusing New Dehli of fuelling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil. But Trump and Modi, both right-wing populists, have shared a strong bond since the US president’s first term. “Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties,” Modi wrote on X, adding that India and the United States shared a “very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership”. Earlier, Trump told reporters that he “will always be friends with Modi”. “India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about,” Trump said, downplaying his earlier rem...

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi was committed to improving ties with Beijing in a key meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping on Sunday, as both countries resolved to put aside differences from a years-long border standoff. Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders from Central, South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East in a show of Global South solidarity. “We are committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities,” Modi told Xi during the meeting on the sidelines of the summit, according to a video clip posted on the Indian leader’s official X account. The bilateral meeting took place five days after Washington imposed punishing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods due to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. Analysts say Xi and Modi are looking to present a united front against Western pressure. Modi s...

Chinese President Xi Jinping will gather more than 20 world leaders at a regional security forum in China next week in a powerful show of Global South solidarity in the age of Donald Trump while also helping sanctions-hit Russia pull off another diplomatic coup. Aside from Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia have been invited to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, to be held in the northern port city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. The summit will feature Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in more than seven years as the two neighbours work on further defusing tensions roiled by deadly border clashes in 2020. Modi last shared the same stage with Xi and Putin at last year’s Brics summit in Kazan, Russia, even as Western leaders turned their backs on the Russian leader amid the war in Ukraine. Russian embassy officials in New Delhi last week said Moscow hopes trilateral talks with China and ...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deepest tax cuts in eight years will strain government revenues but are winning praise from businesses and political pundits who say they will bolster his image in an ongoing trade fight with Washington. In the biggest tax overhaul since 2017, Modi’s government on Saturday announced sweeping changes to the complex goods and services tax (GST) regime which will make daily essentials and electronics cheaper from October, helping consumers and also companies like Nestle, Samsung and LG Electronics. At the same time, in his Independence Day speech on Friday, Modi urged Indians to use more goods made domestically, echoing calls from many of his supporters to boycott US products after Donald Trump hiked tariffs on imports from India to 50 per cent as of August 27. The tax cut plan comes with costs given GST is a major revenue generator. IDFC First Bank says the cuts will boost India’s GDP by 0.6 percentage points over 12 months but will cost the state and federal government $20...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that his country is seeking self-reliance in energy independence and the development of its own powerful defence systems, vowing to defend his country’s interests “like a wall”. Modi delivered his annual Independence Day address from the ramparts of New Delhi’s Red Fort at a time when India faces intense pressure and threats of additional tariffs from the United States. “Self-reliance is the foundation of developed India,” Modi said after a flypast of military helicopters scattered flower petals above an invited crowd of thousands. “Freedom becomes meaningless if someone becomes too dependent on others.” Ties between New Delhi and Washington have been strained by Trump’s ultimatum that India end its purchases of Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow as it wages its military offensive in Ukraine. India has said it “stands ready” to support efforts to end the Ukraine war and endorses a summit to be held between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Put...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet President Donald Trump during a visit to the United States next month to attend the UN General Assembly meeting, the Indian Express newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing sources. India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An Indian official familiar with the matter said a decision has not yet been taken, and that countries usually reserve slots for the General Debate at the assembly, which is why India’s “head of government” features in a provisional list of speakers on September 26. “The list will go through revisions,” the official said, adding that it had not yet been decided if Modi would be going to the assembly. The General Assembly kicks off on September 9, but the debate, the annual meeting of heads of state and government, will be held from September 23-29. Although the reason for the potential visit will be to attend the UN meeting in New York, a key objective will be to hold talks with Trump and iron out tra...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to engage with the US and China have reached a stalemate, which exposes limitations to India’s powers on the global stage, The New York Times reported. Modi’s first attempt came in 2014 through a high-level engagement with China came. The Indian premier rolled out the red carpet for China’s President Xi Jinping in his home town, organising an intimate riverside dinner in Ahmedabad. The meeting at the time focused on economic cooperation, with India seeking Chinese funding for an overhaul of its dilapidated railways and cooperation in nuclear energy. However, the talks were overshadowed by a stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along their shared border. “The flare-up in 2014 was the first of several acts of aggression that would ultimately leave Mr Modi embarrassed, his economy squeezed by the need to keep tens of thousands of Indian troops on a war footing high in the Himalayas for several years,” The New York Times said. Subsequently, Modi steered towards...

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to visit China for the first time in seven years to participate in the Aug 31-Sept 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) would strengthen the gathering’s friendship with the promise of great results, said the hosts on Friday. Several Indian media outlets quoted official sources on Wednesday as saying that Mr Modi would visit China for the summit, which was planned ahead of the rising tensions with the US. In response to Indian media reports, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday that China welcomed Indian Prime Minister Modi to the SCO summit at Tianjin. “We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness.” Guo was quoted by the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper seen as close to the Commu...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday he would not compromise on the agriculture sector, a day after United States President Donald Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. Washington announced the hike in levies on Wednesday, citing New Delhi’s purchasing of Russian oil, a key revenue source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. For New Delhi, one of the main sticking points in trade negotiations has been Washington’s demand to access India’s vast agricultural and dairy market. India has remained steadfast about its labour-intensive agricultural sector, unwilling to risk angering farmers, a powerful voting bloc. “We will not compromise with the interests of our farmers, our dairy sector, our fishermen,” Modi said during a speech at a conference in New Delhi, his remarks widely seen as his first public response to the tariffs. “I know I will have to pay a personal price for this, but I am ready for it,” he added, without giving further details. India has also refused to allow the import of genetically...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that begins on Augst 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India’s relationship with the US faces its most serious crisis in years after President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian peers on goods imported from India, and has threatened an unspecified further penalty for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. Modi’s visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the summit of the SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping that includes Russia, will be his first since June 2018. Subsequently, Sino-Indian ties deteriorated sharply ...

Indian opposition parties criticised the government on Thursday, describing US President Donald Trump’s threat of a 25 per cent tariff as a diplomatic failure for New Delhi, while the rupee currency tumbled and equity indexes slid in response to the news. The 25pc rate would single out India more harshly than other major trading partners, and threatens to unravel months of talks, undermining one of Washington’s strategic partners in the region, viewed as a counterbalance to China. Trump said the tariff on imports from India would start from Friday, in addition to an unspecified penalty for Russian dealings and involvement in the BRICS grouping of nations. In response, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was studying the implications of Trump’s remarks and was dedicated to securing a fair trade deal. “This development reflects a broader collapse of foreign policy under the Modi government,” a lawmaker of the main opposition Congress party said in a notice to the lower house of parliament, as...

Indian opposition parties on Tuesday assailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failures in the Pakistan-India four-day conflict earlier this year. As New Delhi launched deadly air strikes on Pakistan in early May over allegations about the Pahalgam attack, which Islamabad denied, PAF downed six Indian jets in its response. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Speaking in the monsoon session of the Indian lower house of parliament, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said Modi’s government “lacked the political will to fight Pakistan and, because of that, asked the armed forces to attack with their hands tied behind their backs,” according to NDTV. “If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly say in parliament — Donald Trump is lying,” Gandhi, who is a member of the opposition Congress party, said. He added that the Indian prime minister should state that neither did Tru...

INDIA’S opposition Congress party has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi provide a clear explanation after US President Donald Trump claimed that five fighter jets were shot down during the recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led the charge on Saturday, calling on Modi to address the nation regarding the fate of the jets. “Modi ji, what is the truth about the five [jets]? The country has the right to know!” Mr Gandhi posted on X, as criticism from the opposition mounted over the government’s han­­dling of the brief but intense conflict. The controversy erupted after Trump, speaking at a White House dinner with Republican lawmakers on Friday, said, “In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually,” referring to the hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Indian premier asked to ‘speak truth’ Trump did not specify which side’s aircraft were downed, nor did he provide furth...

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained in a conversation with US President Donald Trump late on Tuesday that a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day conflict in May was achieved through talks between the two militaries and not US mediation, India’s senior-most diplomat said. Trump had said last month that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war. “PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-US trade deal or US mediation between India and Pakistan,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press statement. “Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” he said. M...

Members of Canada’s Sikh community, who were warned by police that their lives were at risk and allege the Indian government is responsible for the threat, are incensed by Ottawa’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Modi, although India is not a G7 member, to attend the summit, which starts on Sunday, as a guest. It will be Modi’s first visit to Canada in a decade and a diplomatic test for Carney, a political neophyte. Canada’s relationship with India has been tense since former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 accused India’s government of involvement in the June 18, 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. Modi’s government has denied involvement in Nijjar’s killing and has accused Canada of providing a safe haven for Sikh separatists. “‘Outrage’ is the kind of term that I’ve heard from people,” Sikh activist Moninder Singh, a friend of Nijjar, said of the invitation. He and other S...