India left with ‘no friends’: Farooq Abdullah on Trump's 25% tariff; says US now closer to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah has raised concerns over India’s dwindling diplomatic ties, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on Indian goods.

The National Conference (NC) president said that India is left with “no friends” on the global stage and is becoming isolated. He further claimed that Trump’s administration is warming up to Pakistan at India’s expense.


Abdullah criticised India’s approach towards its neighbours, warning that the country’s posture of dominance may be doing more harm than good.

"We have no friends left, even our neighbours are not our friends. What we have tried to do is to show that we are stronger than they are, rather than thinking that all of us have to be together. That's why Indira Gandhi created SAARC, which aimed to bring all nations closer to us. It was meant to think about the economic issues and how to sort them out," Abdullah told ANI.

He further alleged that the US had turned overtly friendly towards Pakistan, offering it economic benefits while pressuring India.

"Suddenly, Trump has become much more friendly with Pakistan. They want us not to take Russian oil. Yet they have promised Pakistan they will send crude (oil) to them and refine it, leading to their prices of petrol and diesel to come down. Already, China is behind them," he further added.

Abdullah attributed the economic tussle, including the depreciation of the rupee, to what he called a problem between the two leaders, Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi.

"It is a problem between the two leaders - Trump and Modi. They are both strong leaders, and that is why they don't want to bow down to each other. The nation suffers in that. We have a 25 per cent tariff on our goods going to America, plus an additional penalty. In the process, the rupee is falling and the dollar is rising. This is affecting everyone," Abdullah argued.

Trump, meanwhile, signalled that the US is still open to dialogue on the issue of tariffs. Responding to a query by ANI, the US President said, "We're talking to them now. We'll see what happens. Again, India was the highest or just about the highest tariff nation in the world, one of the highest, 100 points, 150 points or percentages. So India was one of the highest in the world. They had 175 per cent and higher than that."

The statement came during a press conference at the White House, where Trump signed a Congressional bill into law. He also reiterated that India's high tariffs had long been a point of contention for the US.

Following the announcement of the new tariffs and penalties for India’s purchase of Russian oil, Trump also took to his social media platform Truth Social, "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

“We have done very little business with India; their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world," he further added.