New Delhi, April 8 As the US and Israel, and Iran agree to a two-week ceasefire, the Congress on Wednesday criticized the government for its "missteps" since the outbreak of the conflict and said that it must consult with the opposition for a unified approach to restore India's role as a credible voice for peace.
The Congress's Foreign Affairs Department, headed by former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, welcomed the temporary cessation of hostilities as a vital step towards de-escalation, renewed diplomacy and constructive dialogue, and ultimately lasting peace in West Asia.
It said that the BJP-led government's "missteps, partisan alignment, and cowardly silence" have compromised India's energy security, strained relationships in its extended strategic neighborhood, weakened the country's standing as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region, and diminished its moral leadership in the Global South.
"Any meaningful resolution must be anchored in the principles of the United Nations Charter, especially Article 2(4), which expressly prohibits the threat or use of force against territorial integrity, and Article 2(7), which forbids intervention in matters of domestic jurisdiction," the party wing said.
These global norms are mirrored in India's civilisational values of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family), ahimsa (non-violence), and Nehruvian non-alignment, it said.
The interim cessation in hostilities offers us a window to objectively assess the costs to India, the party said.
Khurshid said that the BJP government's "missteps" have inflicted tangible costs at home and abroad, leaving millions of Indians grappling with shortages of cooking gas, fertilizers, and other essential commodities, destabilizing diaspora Indians in West Asia, and exposing the nation to new vulnerabilities caused by a new strategic reality.
"Equally concerning, the BJP government's missteps have led to Pakistan playing a role in mediating between the warring parties, despite India being better placed to serve as a credible interlocutor," the party said.
The government's conduct, the Congress said, not only undermined the efforts of successive Indian governments to diplomatically isolate Pakistan but also afforded Islamabad room to rehabilitate itself on the world stage and whitewash its track record of fomenting regional instability through support for cross-border terrorism targeting India, Afghanistan, and Iran.
"Pakistan positioning itself as a middleman in great-power competition in Asia may allow it leverage over India on crucial bilateral matters through third-parties. These geoeconomic and geopolitical costs were avoidable, and stem directly from Prime Minister Modi's partisan support for a far-right government on the eve of a war and national elections, and overall ideological internationalism," the party's Foreign Affairs Department said.
"This foreign policy misadventurism is in contravention to the counsel of India's foreign policy establishment, and foreign policy consensus adhered to since 1947. The BJP government has consistently subordinated the national interest to electoral and ideological considerations. This must be urgently eschewed," it said.
The Indian government must take the Opposition into confidence and lead a unified national approach to restore India's historic role as a principled, proactive, and credible voice for peace and a just international order, it said.
US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire as part of a deal that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump swerved to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants.
Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) even as Democrats called for his removal over "unhinged" threats to wipe out the Iranian civilisation.
"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz," the US president said in a social media post.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran, and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran, but the deal doesn't cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.