By most metrics of a successful summit Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with the US president Donald Trump has gone along well. Its optics too should be a source of satisfaction for New Delhi. But the biggest achievement for India is certainly the US designation of the Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as the global terrorist. Salahuddin was designated a terrorist “under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (EO) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals”. The US statement department has justified the action by quoting Salahuddins recent statements. It said that in September 2016, Salahuddin vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict. He is also quoted to have threatened to train Kashmiri suicide bombers and turn the Kashmir valley into a graveyard for Indian forces. The development has come as a boost to Indias position that the armed campaign in Kashmir is terrorism. Hizbul Mujahideen is the largest indigenous militant group in Kashmir comprising predominantly of the local recruits. Though US has stayed short of branding Hizbul Mujahideen as the terrorist group, Salahuddins designation can be seen as a step in that direction.
Modi’s visit is pretty significant. The Trump administration is still shaping its world view. More so, about South Asia. In the six months that Trump has been in power, US Government has paid little attention to South Asia. And that too at a time when the geo-politics in the region is in a state of flux. Russia has moved closer to China and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has once again given Pakistan a renewed strategic leverage. Trump has thus been disruptive influence in global affairs. In some aspects America under him has drastically departed from its long standing policies. For example on climate deal which US unilaterally chose to reject.
But as the summit will have us believe, US under Trump has shown a distinct partiality towards India. US president has called himself a true friend of India. The joint press statement has talked of the incredible importance of the security partnership between the two countries. Both our nations have been struck by the evils of terrorism, and we are both determined to destroy terrorist organizations and the radical ideology that drives them. We will destroy radical Islamic terrorism, the statement read.
The deepening relationship between the two largest democracies will certainly impact the regional geo-politics and in turn the situation in Kashmir. However, going by the worsening situation, one would only wish that the new geo-political alignments in the region lead to a durable peace, rather than aggravating the old conflicts like Kashmir.b
More importantly for Kashmir, there has been no public mention of the ongoing turmoil in the state or a call on New Delhi to take steps for the resolution of the long festering issue. This means that US is willing to overlook Kashmir or the human rights issues in its bid to forge a closer relationship with India for economic and geo-political reasons. The deepening relationship between the two largest democracies will certainly impact the regional geo-politics and in turn the situation in Kashmir. However, going by the worsening situation, one would only wish that the new geo-political alignments in the region lead to a durable peace, rather than aggravating the old conflicts like Kashmir.
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