Most Pakistanis will openly admit that India has an excellent foreign policy for India's benefit.
That is Imran Khan's whole point - that India's foreign policy is not controlled by foreign countries.
This is not admiration for Modi. In fact Modi had done immense damage to the smart foreign policy of previous administrations by getting too close to the US. The Ukraine war turned out to be a life-saver for Modi to salvage the Russian relationship.
The Ukraine war actually called the BJP’s bluff of appearing to show India is moving towards the US and away from Russia. When push comes to shove,
India is not a reliable ally to anyone, and only thinks of it’s self interests not principles. Modi’s India is no different in that way then previous governments.
That is the message that IK has tried to convey to the west. India will not undermine Russia because at the end of the day, the Indian establishment is Machiavellian and not ideologically supportive of democracy for the sake of democracy. There is a reason India sided (“non-aligned”) with the Soviets during the Cold War.
The size of India’s economy and potential customer base is what attracts westerners and makes them ignore all else, just like they did for China a generation ago. But that same large economy also means India needs to look for the cheapest inputs to maintain its growth as the demographic dividend window closes over the next 15-20 years.
I agree, there is no admiration for Modi by IK, in fact he is genuinely contemptuous of the Indian leader. The hopes the West had for Modi, have been dashed with the Ukraine war. India’s purchase of Russian oil and defense equipment may very well be what sustains both industries to the detriment of the west’s efforts in Ukraine. In that sense India is hurting the war effort, and supporting Russia more so then China, because at least China is more honest with where it stands.
Modi is just the manifestation of the aspirations of a growing segment of the Indian population; appearing to accept western norms to gain economic leverage
until they are called out on it. The same pass China was given until recently. India is not nearly as economically efficient nor demographically rebound to warrant the west giving another go to another potential Asian rival. Especially not at a time when western populations are demanding on-shoring of industries back to the States and Europe, and out of Asia. And India knows it won’t be given the same kind of investments that led to the rise of China, so it has to find its own cheap inputs itself, hence the need to import cheaper Russian commodities.
IK message to the west about India, and especially Modi, was his last jab at India as the PM, for now Inshallah.
