News that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will receive Trinidad and Tobago’s highest honour during a historic visit to the country has been welcomed by the Indo-Trinidadian Hindu population but has drawn strong objections from the country’s largest Muslim organisation.

Modi’s two-day visit to the country on Thursday marks the first time a sitting Indian prime minister sets foot in Trinidad and Tobago. Modi accepted the invitation from the recently appointed prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who has longstanding diplomatic ties with India.

India and Trinidad and Tobago share a diplomatic relationship stretching back decades and anchored in the legacy of Indian indentureship.

Announcing the decision to honour Modi with the prestigious Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT) during his visit, the government described it as “a tribute of the nation’s appreciation for prime minister Modi’s outstanding contribution to the development of Trinidad and Tobago; and service to the region and wider international community”.

But on Wednesday the Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA) said it planned to write to the prime minister’s office and the Indian high commission to express concern over the honour being extended to a political leader they say has a widely criticised human rights record.

In a statement signed by general secretary Rahimool Hosein, the ASJA said it has “deep and principled concern” about the state’s legitimisation of a figure they believe has emboldened religious intolerance in India and targeted the Muslim minority. “We cannot ignore Mr Modi’s political legacy and its ramifications for Muslim communities globally,” the organisation said.

The ASJA referenced the revocation of Kashmir’s special status, and the 2002 Gujarat riots, during which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat at the time, though the Indian supreme court cleared him of wrongdoing in 2022. The ASJA also pointed to continuing criticism from international human rights groups.

While some Muslim communities and human rights advocates have criticised Modi’s policies, he has also received state honours from several Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The ASJA said it welcomed opportunities for interfaith dialogue but were “compelled to clarify that interfaith dialogue requires more than polite diplomacy, it necessitates justice, truth, and accountability”.

About 35% to 40% of Trinidad and Tobago’s population is of Indian descent, one of the largest and most prominent Indo-diasporic communities in the Caribbean. Most trace their roots to the approximately 143,000 indentured workers brought from India between 1845 and 1917 to work on sugar estates after the abolition of slavery.

Leaders from the Indo-Trinidadian Hindu population have welcomed Modi’s visit. “This moment means something profound,” said Dr Devant Maharaj, a former UNC government minister and former executive member of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), Trinidad and Tobago’s largest Hindu organisation.

Describing Modi as a “hero”, Maharaj said: “It is not just about politics or diplomacy. It is about the reawakening of a people who were once scattered but never severed. For Indo-Trinidadian Hindus, Modi’s India feels like a karmic realignment – a mother remembering her children, and the children looking homeward with both awe and affirmation.”

Under Modi’s leadership, India has sought to deepen ties with the Caribbean. Earlier this year, he visited the oil-rich Caribbean nation of Guyana, where he met with President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and other leaders from the Caribbean Community (Caricom), an intergovernmental organisation of 15 Caribbean nations, at a Caricom-India Summit.

On social media, there have been mixed reactions to the visit, with some people supporting diplomatic ties and others questioning the logic behind the ORTT honour.

Modi’s trip to Trinidad and Tobago is said to be a part of a broader diplomatic tour spanning Africa and the Americas. After departing Port of Spain on 4 July, the prime minister will travel to Argentina, Brazil and Namibia.

The Guardian has contacted Persad-Bissessar’s office for comment and the Indian high commission in Trinidad and Tobago.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s aide Rana Sanaullah has said in an interview that Pakistan only had 30 or 45 seconds to decide if India’s BrahMos missile during Operation Sindoor was armed with a nuclear warhead.

In a clip from an interview, Rana Sanaullah is heard acknowledging the confusion within Pakistan’s political establishment caused by India’s actions in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

“When India fired BrahMos and it hit Nur Khan airbase, Pakistan’s military had 30 or 45 seconds to determine if it carried a nuclear warhead,” Rana Sanaullah said. He also underlined the risk of a nuclear war during the heightened India-Pakistan tensions.

“Having to decide on this in just 30 seconds created a dangerously rushed situation…people on this side could have misunderstood it, triggering the first nuclear weapon that could spark a global nuclear war,” he said.

Speaking of Donald Trump’s role in India-Pakistan conflict, Rana Sanaullah said there should be an independent evaluation of the US President’s role. The video of Rana Sanaullah, shared on X by ‘Pakistan Untold’, is now going viral.

The relations between India and Pakistan worsened after the terror attack in which 26 persons, mostly tourists, were shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Two weeks later, the Navy, the Indian Army and the Air Force launched a joint operation on terror hotbeds in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders involved in planning and executing terrorist attacks in India.

India’s counter-terror operations destroyed multiple camps of terror groups in Pakistan and PoK, leading to a tense military showdown that de-escalated on Pakistan’s request for a ceasefire.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday conferred with ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’, the country’s national honour, for his “distinguished statesmanship and influential global leadership”.

Modi received the award from the Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.

“Honoured to be conferred with ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’,” the prime minister said in an X post.

In his acceptance speech, Modi said the award was a matter of great pride and honour for him.

“I humbly accept the award on behalf of the 140 crore Indians,” he said, dedicating it to the aspirations and bright future of the youth of the two countries, their rich cultural traditions and diversity, and the historical ties between Ghana and India.

“This honour is also a responsibility; to keep working towards stronger India-Ghana friendship. India will always stand with the people of Ghana and continue to contribute as a trusted friend and development partner,” he said in an X post.

Modi arrived in the Ghanaian capital of Accra on Wednesday as part of a five-nation tour and was received at the airport personally by Mahama and given a ceremonial welcome. This is the first visit to the West African nation by an Indian premier in three decades and Modi’s trip is part of India’s outreach to the Global South.

“Today, the president and I decided to elevate our bilateral relationship into a comprehensive partnership,” Modi told a joint media interaction with Mahama after their talks on Wednesday.

“In Ghana’s journey of nation building, India is not just a supporter, but a fellow traveller.”

Modi listed the Grand Jubilee House, Foreign Services Institute, Komenda Sugar Factory, India-Ghana Kofi Annan ICT Centre, and Tema Mpakadan Railway Line – all built with Indian support – as symbols of the bilateral partnership. With two-way trade crossing $3 billion and Indian companies investing $2 billion in 900 projects across Ghana, the two sides set a target of doubling trade over the next five years.

Also Read:PM Modi receives Ghana’s highest state honour ‘Officer of the Order of the Star’

The two leaders highlighted their plans to accelerate cooperation in key areas such as defence cooperation, food security and pharmaceuticals, especially vaccines. These initiatives dovetail with Mahama’s “Ghana Reset Agenda”, launched six months ago.

“In agriculture, it will be our pleasure to lend support towards President Mahama’s ‘Feed Ghana’ programme,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi. “We’ve discussed cooperation in vaccine production.

“In defence and security, we will move forward with the mantra of ‘security through stability’. Cooperation will be extended in training of armed forces, maritime security, defence supplies and cyber security,” he said.

Mahama said Ghana is keen to sign formal agreements with India on defence cooperation, vaccine production and supply of agricultural machinery. “Both countries will work to deepen economic and investment relations at a time that Ghana is undergoing economic restructuring due to the debt treatments we’re undergoing in the IMF programme,” he said.

Modi offered to share India’s expertise with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) digital payments system with Ghana and to provide affordable healthcare through Jan Aushadhi Kendras. “Indian companies shall cooperate in the exploration and mining of critical minerals,” he said.

The two leaders also discussed counter-terrorism and Modi said the two countries will strengthen their cooperation in these efforts. “We express our sincere gratitude to Ghana for its cooperation in our fight against terrorism,” he said.

“Our perspectives on UN reforms are closely aligned. We both have expressed deep concern at ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Europe. We firmly believe that this is not an era of war. Issues must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.

The two countries signed four memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including one on creating a permanent Joint Commission to institutionalise high-level dialogue and review bilateral cooperation, and another on cultural exchanges.

Another MoU was signed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to enhance cooperation in certification and conformity assessment, while Ghana’s Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine (ITAM) and India’s Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) finalised an MoU on traditional medicine education, training and research.

Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing that Mahama sought India’s support to develop Ghana as a “food basket” and provide food security to the people, and to create a vaccine hub in the country to cater to West Africa.

“Some development has already taken place in collaboration with the Global Vaccine Alliance and, in that context, he wants Indian entrepreneurs to…set up manufacturing units in pharma and vaccines, where India clearly has advanced its capacities,” Ravi said.

Mahama also sought defence cooperation in the context of Ghana’s concerns related to terrorism from the Sahel region and piracy in nearby seas. “There is clear interest to have India’s support in terms of support of the equipment, training of personnel and to be able to source equipment from India,” he said.

“There was also concern for the way terrorism is affecting the world. President Mahama clearly expressed solidarity with India. He condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and he was very clear and unequivocal in his support for India and solidarity in the fight against terrorism,” Ravi said.

Ghana is one of the fastest growing economies in West Africa, and India is among the country’s top trading partners. India is also the largest destination for Ghanaian exports, driven largely by imports of gold, which accounts for more than 70% of total imports from Ghana. In FY 2024-25, two-way trade reached $3.1 billion, with India’s exports amounting to $1.34 billion.

India is one of the top investors in Ghana, ranking second in number of projects (11) and fifth in terms of FDI value ($ 16.08 million) during January-September 2024.

Ghana is home to an Indian community of more than 15,000. Some of them have been in the country for more than 70 years and most have acquired Ghanaian citizenship.

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Are social media handles of Pakistani entertainment and news channels and those of the country’s celebrities now accessible in India? Reports claim that some of them were accessible in India for a brief period. However, they were blocked again on Thursday.

Government sources blamed a “system glitch” that “unblocked” the social media handles “for a bit”. These handles have been blocked again.

The Centre had banned streaming of 16 Pakistani media YouTube channels “for spreading communally sensitive content and misinformation against India” in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 that had killed 26 people.

These included Dawn news, GeoTV, Samaa TV, ARY News, Razi Naama, GNN and Irshad Bhatti. See full list here

Donald Trump has claimed several times of using trade as a means of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict, which was triggered after the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack and escalated with India’s retaliation through ‘Operation Sindoor’ on May 7.

On US President Donald Trump’s remarks on the ceasefire between India and Pakistan*, EAM Dr S Jaishankar said on Thursday while speaking to the press in Washington DC, “The record of what happened at that time was very clear and the ceasefire was something which was negotiated between the DGMOs of the two countries…”

“I will leave it at that,” Jaishankar added.

 

During the fireside chat with Newsweek earlier this week as well, Jaishankar stated that he was “in the room” when US Vice Prsident Vance spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the night of May 9.

Jaishankar said Vance had told PM Modi that Pakistan would launch a massive assault on India if they did not accept certain things. According to him, PM Modi during the call indicated that there would be a response from India.

“In terms of what has been our position, yes, we have for many years it’s not a position just of this government in Delhi, I mean it’s been a national consensus that our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral and in this particular case, I can tell you that when I was in the room when Vice President Vance spoke to Prime Minister Modi on the night of 9th May saying that you know the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things and the prime minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do on the contrary he (PM Modi) indicated that there would be a response from us this was the night before. Something the Pakistanis did was attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter, and the next morning, Mr Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So, I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened,” Jaishankar said in the interview.

Despite India’s denials, Trump has repeatedly claimed to have brokered peace between India and Pakistan after India launched Operation Sindoor.

On May 10, foreign secretary Vikram Misri had announced that Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) had called the Indian counterpart, and it was agreed between them that both sides would cease all firing and military action on land, in the air, and at sea.

Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian armed forces on May 7, targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed terrorists found to have links with Pakistan.