New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the country's foreign policy, which he said failed to 'isolate' Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack, as the second round of Iran-US ceasefire negotiation is reportedly scheduled to be held in Islamabad.

Jairam Ramesh, highlighting the dire condition of Pakistan's economy and its long-term association with terrorism, stated that Islamabad is now 'playing a pivotal diplomatic role' in the US-Iran ceasefire negotiations.

Congress MP further blamed PM Modi's government for failing to 'isolate' Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, terming Islamabad's 'new branding', 'different' from what former PM Manmohan Singh achieved after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in which more than 160 people were killed.

'Pakistan's economy is clearly in dire straits, and it depends on largesse given to it by friendly countries. But it is for now playing a pivotal diplomatic role after having given sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists, bombing drug rehabilitation centres in Afghanistan, and most recently orchestrating the Pahalgam terror attack a year ago,' he said.

'It is abundantly clear that the substance and style of Prime Minister Modi's regional and global engagement and narrative management have failed to isolate Pakistan which has received a whole new branding - different from what Dr. Manmohan Singh had been able to achieve after the terror attacks in Mumbai in Nov 2008,' he added.

Jairam Ramesh also emphasised Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir's relationship with Donald Trump.

'That Field Marshal Asim Munir - whose provocative and inflammatory remarks provided the oxygen for the Pahalgam terror attack - has become such a huge favourite of President Trump is a particularly severe setback for India. That the Field Marshal and his colleagues seem to have succeeded in managing the Trump ecosystem of family and associates much better than India is obvious,' he said.

Congress MP termed the Islamabad talks as 'a monumental setback' for PM Modi's foreign policy, calling for a 'complete overhaul' while believing that PM Modi is 'incapable of doing that'.

'It is a monumental setback for Mr. Modi's foreign policy. India needs a complete overhaul of its diplomatic engagement strategy and tactics--which Mr. Modi is simply incapable of doing,' he said.

The two-week ceasefire is set to end on April 22. The first round of ceasefire negotiations ended in a gridlock between Tehran and Washington over the energy artery, the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear capacities. With the ceasefire set to lapse on Wednesday, the second round of Islamabad talks represents the final diplomatic off-ramp before a potential escalation into full-scale infrastructure warfare. As the world watches the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, the stakes have never been higher. While the US maintains that a 'fair and reasonable' deal is on the table, the Iranian leadership's refusal to negotiate under the 'shadow of a blockade' suggests that the 21-hour marathon of the previous round may have been just a prelude to a much darker confrontation. (ANI)