Pahalgam and India's diplomatic bubble

Over 130 countries condemned the Pahalgam attack in the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and expressed solidarity with New Delhi. Yet, India is upset.

Despite world leaders, including one India's closest allies the United States, denouncing the Pahalgam attack, they stopped short of blaming Pakistan — the last thing the Modi government wanted.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to many world leaders and tried to convince them that the attack on tourists had a Pakistani footprint. Diplomats posted in New Delhi were briefed by the Ministry of External Affairs, building a case against Pakistan.

However, none of the countries were convinced and refrained from endorsing the Indian position. So much so, the Trump administration, which comprises officials considered close to India, wanted to see convincing evidence before laying the blame on Pakistan.

President Donald Trump's statement was a shock for India, which expected an explicit support from the US. Instead, Trump was of the opinion that he was close to both India and Pakistan and that he knew Kashmir was a longstanding issue.

A member of the US think-tank told The Express Tribune that Trump's stance was contrary to otherwise close strategic partnership with India.

The broader interpretation of President Trump's statement is that he views the Pahalgam attack not as a mere terrorist incident but in the context of the Kashmir dispute. "That is a deadly blow to the Indian narrative," remarked the American expert, who was of the view that New Delhi wanted an explicit support from Washington, branding Pakistan as sponsor of this attack.

Diplomats, who were briefed by the Indian foreign secretary on the Pahalgam attack, reported back to their respective governments that New Delhi had yet to provide clear evidence about Pakistan's involvement.

Some of them told The New York Times that India was building its case based on Pakistan's past support to groups active in the disputed Kashmir region.

Part of the reason that the outside world, particularly the western countries, were not jumping the gun or ready to lend support to India as far as its allegations against Pakistan was concerned was the Modi government's own track record.

Under Modi's watch, Indian secret services conducted extrajudicial killings in Canada and made a failed attempt in the United States. Those episodes created mistrust between India and the West.

The second factor was the haste with which India started blaming Pakistan within hours of the attack.

International media as well as diplomatic missions were closely following the developments that unfolded after the attack.

Many come to the conclusion that the Modi government seems to have developed a template to use such attacks to take political mileage by blaming Pakistan even without evidence.

Pakistan, meanwhile, not only condemned the attack but offered to participate in any "neutral, transparent and credible" investigation.

China was the first country to endorse Pakistan's stance while it is believed Russia too supported the idea of impartial inquiry.

The lack of evidence also helped Pakistan pull a major diplomatic victory at the UNSC when it issued a statement condemning the Pahalgam incident. When the first draft was circulated among the 15 members, there were certain references implicating Pakistan.

However, Pakistan managed to convince other members to bring necessary changes that omitted controversial parts.

One official said Pakistan was able to convince other members including powerful players because they also knew that India had no clear evidence about Islamabad's involvement.