“The Hawdy!” Modi should have been named as How Dare You Modi!, after what he has done to Indian Occupied Kashmir. But on the contrary, his reception in Houston has boggled the concerned but naive minds. These interested individuals in media and other spheres of life spread dejection, making Muslim masses feel that Modi has earned Trump’s trust, and give an impression of a diplomatic battle lost. Before this plague of wretchedness captures our sensibility, we must look into specific facts that might lead us out of the melancholy.

History is evident in the fact that the USA never had any interest in any country unless there was an economic benefit. Trump is a card from the same deck which possesses the same mindset. So the real question is, what are American interests associated with India? To comprehend the answer, we need to understand that India is the 3rd largest importer of energy in the world after China and USA, and has a 10% share in the total world imports. To fulfil the exponentially growing energy requirements, India has been planning for many years, and mega gas projects with Iran are in line with the said effort.

On the other side, the USA has enormous reserves of crude oil and gas resources and has been trying to find a market. How could the USA let the Indian Market of 1.3 billion people wander around Iran? Therefore the intensification of sanctions on Iran forced India to close her projects. Furthermore, the USA has brought India out of Chah Bahar Port also, where India invested hugely. China, ever-hungry to fill the vacuum, is now resuming the port project.

It is pertinent to mention that a few days back a drone attack on Aramco Oil Company in KSA had caused fluctuation in oil prices in the international market that disturbed its major buyers, and India’s significant oil supply arrives from Aramco. The drone episode rumbled Indian oil import and resulted in petrol price hike. Around PKR174 is current petrol rate in India. Even a layman understands that fluctuation in oil prices heavily dents any nation’s economy. Thus drone incident: who has done it? “Do we still need an answer,” helped in making Modi’s mind to happily surrender under the sword of a slayer, and feel like a victor.

Now let’s get back to Housten catch. First, Housten is a pivot point of all the world’s oil market. Second, the Secretary of Indian Petroleum Ministry Dr M M Kutty was along with his prime minister. Third, Modi met CEOs of top oil companies of the USA such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum etc. Fourth, before saying Hawdy to Modi, on September 21st Petronet liquefied natural gas (LNG) Limited (a forefront of India’s all-out national drive to ensure the country’s energy security in the years to come) has signed an initial agreement with US LNG developer Tellurian Inc. to negotiate buying up to 5 million tonnes per annum of LNG, that is around US$2.5 billion. Fifth, during the presidential elections of 2016, Donald Trump won by a meagre 9% margin over Hillary Clinton in Texas: the only state that offered Trump fewer than the assigned electoral votes. Considering the number of American Indian voters living in Texas, it is clear that after such an entry of Trump with malevolent Mr Modi on stage, Indian votes are for sure going to divert in Trump’s favour.

The USA got nothing to do with anything besides America and only American benefit. India is having a leverage of her population and consumption, but India has a disadvantage of getting alienated in the region by distancing from Iran and Russia. This is the same mistake Pakistan made once and still paying back the instalments. But today’s changing Pakistan is carrying a transformed foreign relation approach by getting closer to Russia, Iran and China. We can foresee an active progressing regional collaboration of PRIC (Pakistan, Russia, Iran, China). PRIC is, all in all, supporting the Afghan Taliban. That Taliban are not interested in any case to involve India in any Afghan activity of political, social and economic nature goes without saying. Therefore India is left as an American watchdog in the South Asian region.

What about Kashmir? I ask, What else Imran Khan could have done? IK has rightly phrased that it is disappointing that material prevails over the men and humanity. The last lines of IK’s speech at UNGA portrayed Pakistan’s stance over Kashmir. He has said with a determination, “If a country seven times larger than Pakistan engages us in a conventional war, we would be left with two options: either we surrender, or we retaliate, and we the believers that there is no god but Allah.” The round of applause in the hall reveals the appreciation of IK standpoint. Political pundits and analysts, captivated with Modi’s reception, giving an impression of failed diplomacy from our end must condemn the inhumanity, and insensitivity prevailed at Hawdy Modi. To this, they must say, “How Dare you, Modi!”