Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi deliberately avoided a trip to the United States in June.
After learning that Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, would also be in Washington, according to a Bloomberg report citing Indian officials.
Sources told the publication that Modi feared US President Donald Trump might arrange a face-to-face encounter between the two leaders if they were both present at the White House.
In India’s charged political climate, even a brief handshake with Pakistan’s top military commander could be portrayed as a sign of weakness, handing the opposition a weapon powerful enough to destroy Modi’s political career.
For a leader whose image is built on hardline nationalism, meeting the Pakistani army chief—especially under American pressure—would risk shattering the narrative he has cultivated for over a decade. Indian strategists reportedly concluded that the political fallout at home would be catastrophic, potentially ending Modi’s dominance in Indian politics.
Trump, who had already hosted Munir in Washington, has been keen on drawing both sides into dialogue as part of a broader US push for regional stability and trade. But in Delhi, the optics of such a meeting outweighed any diplomatic gains. The decision to stay away underscores the political significance Pakistan’s army chief holds for India—so much so that the mere possibility of an encounter was enough to alter the Indian prime minister’s travel plans.
