Why in the world do leftist Democrats like Rep. Ilhan Omar think that they can meddle with the affairs of other nations? Have not they seen enough of those results in Ukraine and Afghanistan under the ‘experienced’ guidance of Joe Biden?
Now, leave it to the self-appointed representative of all Muslims in America to try to trigger yet another war by waltzing into the contested Kashmir area on a trip to Pakistan and blundering through the politics of a country that just ousted its Prime Minister. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s visit to Pakistan has drawn serious anger and condemnation from India.
Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India, practically implacable enemies, have been in a state of undeclared war over the Kashmir territory from almost day 1 after the 1947 partition that separated the former British colonies.
The area is currently a hodgepodge of regions de facto controlled by Pakistan, India, and the fifty-foot dragon in the room: China since the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Both India and also Pakistan claim legal sovereignty to the area in full, while China claims a small region known as Aksai-Chin that connects Tibet and Xinjiang by road along their disputed border with India.
On Thursday, Reuters reported Omar’s visit to the Muslim-majority area and claimed it requires more attention and harshly criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
At the place where she is standing, it is written (translation):
On the Pakistan side-
"What is our relation with Kashmir
That there is no God but Allah"On the Indian side-
"Religion does not teach us to fight.
We are all Indians and India is our country"Shame on Ilhan Omar.
— Not So Sweet Tweet (@NotSoSwtTwt) April 21, 2022
Here’s what the Muslim lawmaker said about the de facto border dividing the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan and that held by India:
“I don’t believe that it is being talked about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration.”
“On the question of Kashmir, we held a hearing in the foreign affairs committee to look at the reports of human rights violations.”
‘What does Modi need to do to India’s Muslim population before we will stop considering them a partner in peace?’ Omar said.
India slammed Omar’s foray into foreign affairs wherein she met with leaders of the Muslim-majority nation. The Congresswoman was photographed with recently ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is facing criminal prosecution alongside President Arif Alvi for attempting to dissolve the country’s parliament before they could vote him out of office. A move that could be construed as providing legitimacy to the disgraced former PM or suggesting American support for his toppled government.
India tears into 'narrow-minded' Ilhan Omar for visiting Kashmir region while visiting Pakistan https://t.co/CknjRsmhSo
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) April 21, 2022
Arindam Bagchi, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson blasted Omar:
“We have noted that US Representative Ilhan Omar has visited a part of the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that is currently illegally occupied by Pakistan. If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that may be her business. But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty in its pursuit makes it ours. This visit is condemnable. “
Asked to comment on Omar’s ill-conceived actions, Cicely Davis, the Minnesota GOP-endorsed candidate running for her MN-5 Congressional seat told Patriot United News,
“Name an American ally and you’ll find Ilhan Omar is against them. Name the adversary and you’ll find she supports them.
The U.S. considers India to be an ally for many reasons, including the fact that they are a counter balance to China in Asia. Pakistan, on the other hand, is the country that spawned the Taliban in the 1990s, hid Osama Bin Laden until Seal Team 6 finally neutralized him, and is the home of AQ Khan, who is not only the so-called “father of Pakistan’s atomic weapons program” but is known to have passed nuclear secrets to North Korea and Iran. So naturally, Ilhan Omar decided to visit our adversaries in Pakistan. This is so on-brand for her.
Bear in mind that Ilhan serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee so where she goes and who she meets with matters a great deal. Her decision to visit the disputed Kashmir territory between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan and to weigh in decisively on Pakistan’s side speaks volumes about her priorities in the international arena. It doesn’t take a nuclear scientist to predict it would be seen as problematic by our friends in India.
This was Ilhan Omar freelancing American foreign policy and that’s why the U.S. government isn’t taking ownership of her visit. State Department Officials denied paying for the trip, and from what we know, Omar’s office isn’t talking. Nor did she go as part of a larger House delegation.”
Omar’s amateurish diplomatic faux-pas couldn’t possibly come at a worse time as the State Department and White House badly need to woo the Indian Government under Modi as a regional counterbalance to Russia and China to the North. Not to mention, the regional instability this could create with Pakistan, which is already tense due to the disastrous withdrawal of US forces from neighboring Afghanistan that led to the fall of the western-backed Ghani regime and the resurrection of Taliban rule. In short, this was a really dumb move just to get an election season photo-op.
Sources: WesternJournal, The Associated Press, Reuters
