New Delhi

The Congress on Saturday questioned the Centre’s failure to prevent Washington from according Islamabad a mediator’s role between the US and Iran, despite India’s diplomatic outreach to isolate Pakistan after the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the development raised serious questions about the “self-declared Vishwaguru’s huglomacy”, in an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

His remarks came shortly before US Vice President J. D. Vance arrived in Pakistan for talks with an Iranian delegation led by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, aimed at ending the conflict in West Asia.

In a post on X, Ramesh said the world, including India, hoped the meeting would begin a durable peace process that would not be derailed by continuing Israeli aggression.

He asked how Pakistan had managed to carve out a new diplomatic role despite its alleged involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s efforts to isolate it afterward.

Ramesh also claimed the government of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had effectively isolated Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

He further questioned how India had allowed the US to grant Pakistan such a role despite high-profile outreach efforts such as Namaste Trump and Howdy Modi.

The Congress leader also criticised the government’s foreign policy approach toward China and asked why India, as current president of BRICS, had not launched any mediation initiative involving member nations such as Iran, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

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Calling for peace in West Asia, he said the Strait of Hormuz must return to normal operations, noting that the route carries about 20 per cent of global energy trade.