US Defence Policy Team to Visit India

New Delhi: A defence policy team from the United States will visit India shortly and scheduled joint military exercises between the two nations will also take place in Alaska, New Delhi said on Thursday, as it hoped ties can move forward based on “mutual respect and shared interests”. India also warned Pakistan not to continue with its "hateful" rhetoric against New Delhi, saying any misadventure will have "painful consequences".

At his weekly briefing, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India’s defence procurement process to acquire certain American defence platforms “is on as per established procedure”. New Delhi also noted that the bilateral defence ties “underpinned by defence agreements” already in place have given these ties a “strong form” and added that it remains focused on the bilateral, “substantive agenda” between the two nations.

Responding to queries on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel next month to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session, New Delhi said that “no decision has been taken” yet.

The reference to “mutual respect” in New Delhi’s comments is significant, given the vitriolic outbursts by the US President against India in recent weeks, particularly on the trade front. When asked about the recent announcement by Mr Trump on the imposition of tariffs by the US amounting to a total of 50 per cent, which New Delhi had earlier criticised, the foreign ministry spokesperson pointed out that an official reaction had earlier been issued already.

New Delhi also clarified that “de-dollarisation” was never on India’s financial agenda. Mr Jaiswal reiterated that India-US ties have faced “transition and challenges” earlier as well. He said both sides are working to hold the 2+2 (foreign policy and defence) inter-sessional treaty by the end of this month.

In the wake of threats hurled at India by Pakistan’s Army chief Asim Munir, PM Shehbaz Sharif and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, India warned Pakistan that “any misadventure” would have “painful consequences” for Islamabad, as was seen during Operation Sindoor in May.

At the weekly briefing, Mr Jaiswal said India had noted the “warmongering and hateful comments” of the Pakistani leadership, which has been trying to hide its failures by whipping up anti-India sentiments. New Delhi also sternly advised Islamabad to “restrain its comments”.

The warning by New Delhi came on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrated on Thursday, including at the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi. Till a few years ago, the Indian government sent the customary greetings to Islamabad on the occasion, but the developments of the past few years, culminating in the horrific Pahalgam massacre in April this year, have seen bilateral ties plummet to a new low.

Pakistani politicians, including Mr Sharif and Mr Bhutto Zardari, have been issuing threats to India over the sharing of the Indus waters. New Delhi, meanwhile, reiterated its “sovereign” decision taken in April this year to keep the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan in “abeyance”. New Delhi said the IWT is in abeyance due to continued cross-border terrorism by Pakistan.

The foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated that India had never accepted the rulings of the World Bank-appointed Court of Arbitration pertaining to the Indus waters as these were “without jurisdiction and devoid of legal standing”. India also rejected Pakistan’s references to the rulings of the Court of Arbitration.

Even as India warned Pakistan, the Pakistani chargé d'affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich said in his Independence Day speech at the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi that "as recent developments affirm, Pakistan is fully capable of defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any external threat or aggression". He also mentioned the quest for "peaceful settlement of all disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir".