India crosses the Rubicon with Op Sindoor but challenges remain; a riveting, action-packed year awaits Modi 3.0 | India News

The first year of Modi 3.0 will be remembered most for Operation Sindoor that followed the Pahalgam terrorist attack, thrusting Pakistan back to the centre stage of Indian foreign policy. By striking terrorist infrastructure deep inside Pakistan, India imposed unprecedented costs upon Islamabad for its support to cross-border terrorism but also raised the stakes for the international community’s indulgence of Pakistan’s duplicity in addressing a core Indian concern.The year also saw milestones being delivered like the India-UK FTA and the India-EU end-of-2025 deadline set by both sides for a similar agreement that the EU has described as the largest deal of its kind anywhere in the world. PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US within a month of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, along with the launch of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, was also one of the high points.There were other foreign policy pluses, none perhaps more significant than the breakthrough with China in the form of the successful settlement of the 5-year-old border standoff. The thaw in the relationship after the Modi-Xi meeting in October in Russia saw India resuming bilateral visits to Beijing and agreeing on a host of measures to normalize ties.Among the highlights was the upgrade in ties with the Taliban with the first political contact in the form of external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s talks with the acting Afghan foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. PM Narendra Modi also garnered international attention for his back-to-back visits to Russia and Ukraine, during which he stressed the importance of direct talks to end the war – something the 2 sides are engaged in currently.However, many of these foreign policy hits remain an unfinished business and will test India’s resolve in the new year. On Pakistan, the challenge will be to ensure the global community, particularly the UN Security Council where Pakistan is a member, shows understanding about the punitive terms India has set out in the “new normal” against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism. This will be critical in the event of another terrorist attack from across the LoC. The all-party delegations have made a beginning but there’s more to be done, while being mindful of the risks of India-Pakistan re-hyphenation that such an exercise might entail.Managing the relationship with the US will be another pressing challenge in the 2nd year of Modi 3.0. This has arisen unexpectedly from Trump’s constant needling of India on bilateral trade and perhaps even more damaging utterances on the India-Pakistan conflict, like his use of the term mediation – a big taboo in Indian foreign policy lexicon – and his drawing an equivalence between India and Pakistan. India is hoping that not just the US but also its other Quad partners will be more liberal in their support for India on cross-border terrorism, like in the form of a joint statement when the foreign ministers and leaders meet this year.The third significant challenge in the next few months will be to decide whether it’s time to reinforce the improvement in ties with Beijing by resuming direct air and normal visa services with China and, more importantly, with a visit to the country by Modi for the SCO summit. Despite China’s ties with Pakistan acting as a deterrent, especially in a supercharged atmosphere with Pakistan, India has kept the door open for continued engagement, with CDS Anil Chauhan recently declaring that “there’s no definitive proof of real-time targeting support” from China to Pakistan during the conflict.Modi has also shown interest in rebuilding ties with Canada by accepting his counterpart Mark Carney’s delayed invitation for the G7 but this will be subject to Ottawa’s handling of Khalistan separatists and also the probe into the Hardeep Nijjar murder that wrecked the relationship. Signs of improvement in Pakistan-Taliban ties and the proposal to expand CPEC into Afghanistan might pose a few problems too. All in all, a riveting, action-packed year is what awaits Modi 3.