Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a straightforward conversation with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday with the belief that the visiting dignitary will over-ride long-standing vested interest in his country and open a new chapter in bilateral ties. Johnson will inaugurate a factory in Gujarat tomorrow and then hold official meetings in Delhi on Friday.
During his visit, India hopes that the UK reviews its position on Pakistan and China and takes a stand that is befitting of a true democracy. Indian officials have been frustrated by UK’s long-standing association with Pakistan’s military and its inability to call spade a spade on terrorism directed towards India from the Islamic Republic. India has noted the role played by the then UK Chief of Defence Staff Gen Nick Carter in getting the Rawalpindi GCHQ involved in Afghanistan for the past years because of which ISI supported Haqqani Network, a globally designated terrorist group, is ruling Kabul today. Gen Carter retired in November 2021.
