India, Sept. 19 -- Many critics of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi were quick to sound the death knell for the India-US partnership after President Donald Trump, in a characteristically abrupt move, announced steep tariffs of up to 50% on Indian exports. Commentators rushed to claim that Washington had turned its back on New Delhi. Opponents predicted misery for Indian exporters, pointing out that shipments worth $87 billion had been sold to the American market the previous year. To them, this punitive measure was proof that the relationship was unravelling.

In Islamabad, leaders stooped to flatter, indulging President Trump's ego with talk of Nobel Peace Prizes and making a spectacle of their supposed "new closeness" with Washington. ...