The number of countries and diplomats complaining about India’s bad behavior in bilateral and multilateral talks is growing. We in Pakistan have been grumbling about it for half-century. But since the end of the Cold War, other countries have been getting a taste of what Pakistan has suffered at the hands of a large neighbor that consistently fails to act big or show leadership.
The latest countries to suffer Indian hubris are the United States, the states of the European Union, and the United Nations. Even Iran, a close ally for the past three decades, is learning the hard way that it is difficult to bank on New Delhi’s word when unprecedented sanctions are looming.
Pakistan is smarting from the latest hand dealt by India. This is not the first time India has searched for reasons and relied on weak excuses to hide shivering fear.
India’s bad record as a negotiating partner is now being recognized internationally. China is a good example when dealing with Indian on Laddak.
American trade negotiators are frustrated with Indian behavior in talks. So are their European counterparts who have a similar experience of Indian bad-faith negotiating style.
And the latest party to be angry at India’s negotiating style is the United Nations. Both the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights strongly
responded to a smear campaign by Indian media targeting a UN investigation into Indian human rights abuses in Kashmir.
This type of Indian behavior is not new. It goes all the way back to 1970 and 1971, when President Nixon called then-Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi “a bitch” and secretary of state Henry Kissinger said, “Indians are bastards anyway,” according to US government
records declassified in 2005. Both were angry at Indian officials’ negotiating style.
I have no word left for Indians.