India ‘Violating its Obligations’ By Deepening Ties With Israel During Gaza War, Says UN Official; No Clarity on Pahalgam Lapses; Congress Targets Modi Over Address
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April 21, 2026
Sidharth Bhatia
A year after the deadly Pahalgam terrorist attack, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government is yet to specify the “lapses” that allowed a group of gunmen to stage one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Jammu & Kashmir, remedial measures taken, and whether accountability has been fixed. Jehangir Ali says this failure is significant given that officials of the Union home ministry including from the Intelligence Bureau had told an all-party meeting in the national capital on April 24, 2025 that “lapses” had led to the carnage.
The Quad leaders’ summit, which is expected to be hosted by India this year, was not held last year and is not on the cards this year either. No invitation has been sent to the leaders of Japan, Australia and the US so far. India is the rotating chair of the grouping. Foreign ministers from the four countries met twice last year and may meet again in May.
The Modi government, feeling the pinch (and punch) of the energy squeeze and mounting uncertainty in West Asia, at last appears to be stepping up its diplomatic outreach to key regional players. In a surprise one-day visit to Riyadh on Monday, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held talks with his Saudi counterpart, Musaed Al-Aiban, reportedly on the instructions of PM Modi. The visit comes as speculation continues over a possible second round of talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan and the wider West Asia crisis deepening after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. The Speaker of iran’s Majlis Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield” after US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with “problems like they’ve never seen before” if the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday without a deal. According to The Hindu, Doval’s visit is also being seen as India’s efforts to shore up ties with the major oil and gas suppliers amidst a possible energy crisis.
Pakistan’s emergence as a key diplomatic player in the ongoing conflict in West Asia is being reportedly attributed to years of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Texas-based firm Linden Strategies, which cultivated deep ties in Washington. What many Pakistanis now see as a moment of national significance did not materialise overnight. It followed sustained backchannel efforts by the Houston-headquartered firm, led by its chairperson, Stephen
