The Indian media seems to be more obsessed with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan than its own country, which has been recently warned of “consequences” by the US if it tries to evade Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.
New Delhi abhors Khan, who is emerging as the strongest Pakistani leader in recent history on the back of resentment against the old political order that had ruled the country for decades without bringing any substantial change in the country’s economy.
On Thursday, dozens of Indian channels live telecasted PM Khan’s televised address, in which he said a Western country had been unhappy about his Moscow visit. He mentioned the US before smilingly correcting it to “a foreign country.” However, later in an interview on Friday, Khan named the US.
Read more: Indian Twitteratis slam PM Khan for asking to restore Kashmir status
Khan claimed the threat by showing a letter in a rally on March 27, in which he managed to gather tens of thousands of people in the capital, Islamabad, in a show of strength ahead of the no-confidence vote seeking to topple his government.
Imran Khan’s recent approach towards the Ukraine-Russia conflict shows that he wants to pursue an independent foreign policy. Khan said Pakistan is not a slave of the West to follow their orders. He added that Pakistan had lost 80,000 citizens and $100 billion because it supported NATO in Afghanistan.
How's so keen indian main tv channels.. pic.twitter.com/WHEH7bMbnu
— Irfan Abbas (@arfanabbas) March 31, 2022
However, he has been pressured to mend ties with New Delhi and accept the status quo in Kashmir. Pakistan’s economic and political closeness with China is also agitating India. Because India cannot compete with China in any field, it opted to compete with Pakistan. Since day one, India has wanted to put a spanner in the CPEC project.
The Indian regimes, particularly the current regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thrive on a “Hindu India” identity. According to the sensationalist and pro-Modi Indian media, most problems in the country are because of Pakistan and its intelligence apparatus. Poor economy, demonstrations by Indian Muslims, local insurgencies, anger shown by Sikhs over injustices, pollution in Indian skies, etc., are all blamed on Pakistan.
Read more: PM Imran Khan praises India for foreign policy in a rare incident
But India isn’t out of trouble either. On Thursday, American Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics Daleep Singh said India must not expect that Russia, as a “junior partner” of China, would assist India if there were more incursions along the Line of Actual Control.