A geopolitics pundit has questioned the US intentions about having a rock-solid strategic partnership with India after Donald Blome, who serves as the US ambassador to Pakistan, paid a visit to Gilgit-Baltistan, a region located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
PoK - Occupied by Pakistan, Claimed by India
India considers PoK as part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir which New Delhi divided into two centrally administered union territories in 2019.
PoK is currently illegally occupied by the neighboring country but is claimed by New Delhi as the Maharaja of Kashmir had signed an accession agreement for the merger of the Himalayan territory with India in 1948.
However, Pakistani intruders entered Kashmir and a part of the former state was taken over by them. Since then, PoK has remained under the control of Islamabad.
Against this background, Bengaluru-based strategic affairs analyst, S.L. Kanthan called out the US for its hypocrisy toward India.
American Efforts at Teaching a Lesson to India
"USA playing both sides to teach India a lesson in geopolitics. Donald Blome, US ambassador to Pakistan, just made a visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), specifically to Gilgit-Baltistan," Kanthan wrote on Twitter, now rebranded as X, on Tuesday.
"Sending Modi a message — No relationship is 100% guaranteed," he added.
Santhan's remarks about the dubious nature of Washington's attitude toward New Delhi come at a time when the former has sided with Ottawa in a widening rift over the killing of a Khalistani terrorist wanted in India for hate crimes.
US Sides With Ottawa in Diplomatic Rift With New Delhi
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dropped a bombshell, accusing "agents of the Indian government" of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), a proscribed organization in India.
Nijjar, a Canadian national, was killed in Vancouver in June this year. He had several cases registered against him in India, including that of attempting to murder a Hindu priest in the South Asian nation's Punjab state.
Trudeau's accusations led to heightened tensions between India and Canada, with the former slamming the latter for its inaction against Khalistani activists in the North American country.
Despite India's concerns, the US never urged its close ally Canada to take action against Khalistani sympathizers.
American Sleuths Spy on Indian Diplomats
On the contrary, as per the US ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, Washington's sleuths spied on Indian diplomats before sharing intelligence with Ottawa about their reported plot to assassinate Nijjar earlier this year.
But Canada was yet to share concrete evidence about its allegations, which India said were "politically motivated".