Khobragade row: Will Obama step in to save India-US ties?

New York: With things going from bad to worse in the Devyani Khobragade case the US State Department is trying to engage President Barack Obama in the hopes of finding a solution to the escalating row.Secretary of State John Kerry, who has just wrapped up his 10th visit to the Middle East in pursuit of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was scheduled to meet President Obama on Wednesday. Diplomats told Firstpost Kerry was likely to use the late evening interaction to brief Obama on the Middle East and the Khobragade case.[caption id="attachment_1328211" align="alignright" width="380"] Barack Obama. AFP image[/caption]Both the State Department and Pentagon are dismayed with how Khobragade was needlessly humiliated during her arrest in New York jeopardizing long-term US-India ties. They want the case to be resolved expeditiously, but their hands are tied when it comes to legal matters.“There has to be political will to find a solution and President Obama has to act promptly before it becomes a fait accompli. The legal process is unrelenting once it is unleashed,” said a diplomatic source.Although American and Indian diplomats are negotiating at lower levels to resolve the issue, it is clear that political intervention at the highest US level will be needed to break the deadlock.President Obama has so far not said a word on the Khobragade matter. On December 18, we only had White House press secretary Jay Carney saying the US viewed the arrest of Khobragade as an "isolated incident" that did not reflect broader US-India relations.In a major legal setback for Khobragade, US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan denied a request on Wednesday by Khobragade’s lawyer to delay a preliminary hearing on January 13 which may result in an indictment in the case.The US media said that State Department and Indian government efforts to resolve the case diplomatically would be made significantly more difficult if Khobragade is indicted on January 13.In asking Netburn on Monday to extend the deadline, Khobragade's lawyer, Daniel Arshack, said it was negatively interfering with plea negotiations with the US government. The attorney accused federal prosecutors in Manhattan of trying to pressure Khobragade into pleading guilty by next week.“As the court is well aware,” Arshack wrote, “the issuance of an indictment is a polarizing event and one which cannot easily be undone.”But Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara, whose office is handling the case, opposed the delay, arguing that plea discussions can continue following indictment in the case. Judge Sarah Netburn’s decision on Wednesday gives Bharara room now to quickly bring formal charges against Khobragade.Leading foreign policy magazine, The American Interest, urged the administration to find a compromise on the Khobragade case. It also noted that President Obama has the power to pardon any offense under US law."More important, the US needs to sit down with the Indian government and work out a mutually acceptable understanding that will govern the status of diplomats and consular officials in both countries on the basis of reciprocity," said The American Interest.“America’s goal here is not to win an argument about the merits of this case. It is to deepen our relationship with India,” it added.The Khobragade row which has now dragged into the third week has already torpedoed two high-level US official visits to New Delhi. US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will no longer travel to India on January 15. US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal’s first visit to India will also be delayed till the Ministry of External Affairs sees traction on the Khobragade case.President Obama who more than once called the relationship between India and the United States “the defining partnership of the 21st century” should pay closer attention to India’s new ambassador to Washington, S Jaishankar, who worked on the landmark US-India civil nuclear deal. Jaishankar used his very first meeting with Obama administration officials last month to emphasize that the "stalemate" in bilateral ties would continue till the Khobragade case was resolved in a “respectful” manner.According to media reports, Indian authorities have unearthed cases of tax and other legal violations by US Embassy staff members in New Delhi. The authorities have warned that they are prepared to make public and act upon the information if Khobragade’s case is not resolved to India’s satisfaction.Worryingly, the Obama administration is still “reviewing” the paperwork that the State Department received from the United Nations on the transfer of Khobragade to India’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.India has also presented the State Department with a document, dated 26 August, 2013, temporarily accrediting Khobragade to the Indian UN mission as an “Adviser” through the end of December — a date that India argues would have afforded her full immunity at the time of her arrest.