The Congress on Monday (April 20, 2026) took a swipe at the Modi government over Pakistan's role in the U.S.-Iran peace talks, saying Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir becoming a "huge favourite" of American President Donald Trump is a "monumental setback" for India which needs a complete overhaul of its diplomatic engagement strategy.
The opposition party claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "simply incapable" of the overhaul of India's diplomatic engagement strategy that is needed.
Iran-Israel war updates on April 20, 2026
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The 'dalal' country, as the erudite and always nattily dressed External Affairs Minister described it, is reportedly hosting the second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks today." After the completion of the first round of these talks on April 12th, Pakistan borrowed $6 billion from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to repay a $3.5 billion loan taken from the UAE and to retire a $1.43 billion tranche of Eurobonds, he pointed out.
Pakistan's economy is clearly in dire straits and it depends on largesse given to it by friendly countries, Mr. Ramesh said.
