Between diplomacy and deterrence: India weighs Trump’s visit, counters Pak’s nuclear record

New Delhi: The Indian government on Friday refused confirmation or comment on reports that US President Donald Trump might visit India next year. At the official briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal maintained he had “nothing to share” on the issue at this stage, even as Trump himself publicly hinted at the possibility of an imminent visit.

“As far as the comments of US President Donald Trump regarding his visit to India are concerned, I do not have anything on this to share. I will let you know when I have something to share with you,” the MEA official told mediapersons when asked.

Recently, Trump said that talks with New Delhi were “going great” and appeared to suggest that he was open to travelling to India next year. “He (PM Modi) largely stopped buying from Russia. And he is a friend of mine, and we speak,” Trump said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended him an invitation to visit India. “Prime Minister Modi is a great man. He is a friend of mine, and we speak and he wants me to go there. We will figure that out, I will go,” Trump remarked about the Indian leader, thus hinting at a possible ratcheting up of the relationship between the two nations.

These comments come in the light of increased attention towards the trajectory of India–US relations, especially in the context of evolving geopolitical alignments and Washington’s recasting of its South Asia policy. A prospective US presidential visit might indicate continuity in strategic engagement between the two democracies, although the MEA’s restrained stance underlines New Delhi’s preference to await formal communication before making any public pronouncement.

Meanwhile, in a separate context during the same briefing, Jaiswal reacted sharply to President Trump’s comments about Pakistan allegedly conducting nuclear weapons tests. He said this while responding to a question on the issue, stating that Pakistan’s clandestine and illegal nuclear activities were well in line with its long history of proliferation, smuggling, and export control violations. “Clandestine and illegal nuclear activities are in keeping with Pakistan’s history, which is centred around decades of smuggling, export control violations, and secret partnerships,” Jaiswal said. “India has always drawn the attention of the international community to these aspects of Pakistan’s record,” he added. Jaiswal’s comments came days after Trump, in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, claimed that countries including Russia, China, and Pakistan had conducted secret underground nuclear tests. The US president used the claim to justify his administration’s consideration of resuming American nuclear testing after over three decades.

“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they do not talk about it,” Trump said in the interview, adding that he “does not want to be the only country that does not test.” He also included North Korea and Pakistan in the list of countries he said were doing secret testing.

India’s reaction underlined New Delhi’s consistent position that Pakistan’s nuclear programme has long operated outside international norms and accountability frameworks. Analysts observed that the MEA response was both a rejoinder to Pakistan’s record and an affirmation of India’s adherence to global non-proliferation standards.

The juxtaposition of remarks he made on a visit to India and implicating Pakistan in a nuclear test case reflects the dual strands of Washington’s engagement in South Asia-strategic cooperation with New Delhi on the one hand and continued scrutiny of Islamabad’s security and proliferation conduct on the other. If the non-committal tone of the MEA on Trump’s travel plans indicates diplomatic caution, its firm statement on Pakistan underlines continuity in India’s messaging on regional security and nuclear responsibility.