Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, is headed to Washington, DC — not in secrecy, but on red carpet invitation — to attend the 250th anniversary of the US Army on June 14, 2025. This, at a time when India still grieves the loss of innocent lives in Pahalgam, and holds Pakistan responsible for the cross-border terror that shook our conscience earlier this year.
Yet, as the world’s military elite gather in Washington… where is India?
Where is the invitation to our Chief of Army Staff?
Where is the recognition of the world’s fourth-largest military, and its long-standing commitment to democratic values?
This is not just protocol. It is strategic messaging.
The United States is recalibrating — weighing Pakistan’s proximity to China, its influence in Afghanistan, and its usefulness in regional counterterrorism. In this geopolitical chessboard, Pakistan is playing its pieces smartly… while India, somehow, seems to have lost its turn.
What message are we sending out to the world?
That we’ll rally domestically, boast of our strength, take selfies at summits — but fail to shape the global narrative?
That our diplomacy begins with hashtags and ends with silence?
India has paid in blood for its principled stand against terror. But our silence in high halls, and absence from key global forums — from the G7 table to the Pentagon corridors — is both inexplicable and unacceptable.
Let this be a wake-up call.
Geopolitics respects neither sentiment nor sacrifice — only strategy.
And in that game, we must lead — not trail.
Jai Hind.
