Modi Govt Faces Fire at Home After Trump Pakistan Oil Pact Makes Headlines

New Delhi — The political temperature in India soared on Wednesday after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major oil deal with Pakistan, triggering a fresh round of criticism against the Modi government from opposition parties.

Trump, speaking at a business forum in Houston, revealed the $20 billion energy deal with Islamabad, calling it a “strategic step” towards “regional balance and economic cooperation.” The announcement, coming just months ahead of the U.S. presidential elections, has stirred both diplomatic chatter and domestic political uproar in India.

Back home, the opposition lost no time in targeting the ruling BJP. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh questioned why India was blindsided. “Is this the 'global leadership' the Prime Minister talks about? Our so-called ‘strategic friendship’ with the U.S. seems to have bypassed us completely on key energy cooperation,” Ramesh posted on X.

Senior TMC leader Derek O’Brien went a step further, suggesting the deal reflected a “diplomatic vacuum” created by New Delhi’s increasingly one-dimensional foreign policy. “We’ve put all our eggs in one basket — photo ops, stadium rallies, and hashtags. Meanwhile, Islamabad quietly cuts the real deals,” he said.

Experts say the deal could have broader geopolitical implications. “This is not just about oil. It's about influence, investment, and who Washington sees as a partner of the future,” said Professor Radhika Menon, a foreign policy analyst at JNU. “India will now have to assess if its diplomatic capital with the U.S. has taken a hit.”

The Ministry of External Affairs has so far not issued an official comment on Trump’s announcement. However, sources within the government dismissed the criticism as "politically motivated" and said India’s energy partnerships are “diverse and robust.”

Still, the optics haven’t helped the Modi government, which has often projected its close ties with Washington as a key foreign policy achievement. With the opposition now turning the narrative into a question of “missed opportunities” and “regional neglect,” the ruling BJP may have to work harder to shore up its image before the next round of strategic dialogues.

Whether the Trump-Pakistan oil deal is a short-term headline or a long-term shift remains to be seen, but the political ripples in India are already hard to ignore.