The Congress on Saturday took a sharp swipe at the Narendra Modi-led government, calling the recent joint training exercise between American and Pakistani troops “yet another blow to the self-proclaimed Vishwaguru’s self-boastful diplomacy.”
Reacting to reports that US and Pakistani soldiers concluded a joint military exercise titled Inspired Gambit 2026 at Pakistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Pabbi, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the development exposed the hollowness of the government’s foreign policy claims.
“In yet another blow to the self-proclaimed Vishwaguru’s self-boastful diplomacy, the US Central Command has just issued a statement saying that US and Pakistani Army soldiers have completed joint training exercises,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
He recalled that in June 2025, the then chief of the US Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, had described Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner” in counter-terrorism operations. Ramesh also pointed to former US President Donald Trump’s repeated praise for Pakistan’s Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
“President Trump himself has repeatedly expressed his deep admiration for Field Marshal Asim Munir, whose inflammatory and communally provocative remarks had provided the immediate backdrop to the Pakistan-orchestrated terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025,” Ramesh alleged.
He further claimed that Trump had reiterated only a day earlier that he intervened to halt Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025.
According to Pakistan daily Dawn, the joint exercise between the US and Pakistan was held from January 8 to 16 and focused on combined infantry skills, tactical coordination, and counter-terrorism operations. The US Central Command said such exercises strengthen the long-standing defence relationship between the two countries.
The report added that the drills come amid broader signs of renewed engagement between the defence establishments of the US and Pakistan, a development the Congress says undermines the Modi government’s claims of diplomatic isolation of Islamabad.
