The bottom line for India when it comes to Pakistan is cross-border terrorism, not any reports of them making way for talks with Iran, Rubio said. It was a message he put out during his four-day stop in the capital, which will see him at the Quad foreign ministers’ table on 26th May, and it shows you how far Delhi is willing to go to put some distance between hard-nosed security and the rest of the region’s diplomacy.
Talking to the press, Rubio said you can count on Indian officials to draw a line under the armed groups they say are in Pakistan and coming after them. As for Pakistan’s role as a go-between in the Iran matter, he said that ‘never came up’. To him, what India has with Islamabad is a whole other story, one that is down to terrorism.
India’s focus: cross-border terror, not Iran channels
‘You have India always pointing to the fact that there are armed terrorist groups operating from Pakistani territory that target India,’ Rubio put it. That’s been the constant in the room, he said.
When it comes to what Pakistan is up to in Iran, the Indians didn’t bring it up. And he doesn’t see them complaining about it, either. In his view, the Iran file is a world away from the main problem of terrorism.
US-India ties: reassurance amid regional complexity
There was an element of putting minds at ease in what Rubio had to say. He called India ‘one of the US’ most important strategic partners’ and a top trade partner, and he’s of the opinion the two are well on their way. By the time this administration is done, he expects the bond to be ‘stronger than it’s ever been.’
I asked him about the US and its dealings with others in the area, like the military in Pakistan, but he would not be drawn into specifics. His point was that Washington has working relationships with a lot of countries, and so does India. It’s just the way things are done; it’s not a zero-sum game.
He was quick to add that having good relations with anyone else isn’t going to be at India’s expense. You could tell he was trying to head off any worry in Delhi that the US might be moving on as the diplomatic action in and around Iran picks up.
Quad agenda and diplomatic backdrop
Rubio is here to sit down with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and to be part of the Quad get-together on 26th May, where the Indo-Pacific is likely to be the order of the day. All of this is happening while the old tensions between India and Pakistan over terrorism are still very much in play, and as the world re-engages with Iran through local intermediaries.
What you have with Rubio is a sign that Delhi is happy to put its concerns with Pakistan in one box and the Iran mediation in another. It leaves room to work things out behind the scenes on the Iran front, while the eyes of the world are on the groups New Delhi says are hitting them from over the Line of Control.
Key statements from Rubio
Some of the more telling things he put on the record:
– India is flagging the armed groups in Pakistan that are a threat to them
– The subject of Pakistan mediating in Iran ‘never came up’ with the Indians
– The US-India link is set to be ‘stronger than it’s ever been’
– We don’t let our other relationships come at India’s cost
What comes next
He got in on Saturday. From here it’s Agra for the Taj and a Monday in Jaipur before he’s back in New Delhi for the Quad on Tuesday. So these comments on Pakistan and Iran are meant to be out in the open before the real business of the week begins.
For the people in Delhi, the job is the same as ever: put a stop to the cross-border trouble and rattle the cages of those they say are in Pakistan. For us in Washington, it’s a matter of showing we’re in this with India even as we talk to the other side of the fence. We’ll be watching to see how that plays out.
