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‘Pakistani Army officers… What more proof can we offer?’: In Singapore, Abhishek Banerjee exposes Islamabad
Abhishek Banerjee of the TMC pressed on the visuals of high-ranking Pakistani military general officials attending the funeral of labelled terrorists.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, part of the all-party delegation led by Sanjay Kumar Jha for Operation Sindoor's global outreach, outlined evidence of Pakistan’s ties to terror groups.
Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Singapore, Abhishek Banerjee questioned how a military official could attend the funeral of designated terrorists and asked what more proof was required to establish Pakistan’s terror links.
"You have so much evidence in the public domain where you see high-ranking Pakistani military general officials attending the funeral of labelled terrorists, where else do you see this? I mean, what else can we offer you as evidence?" Banerjee asked.
He appealed to the people to spread this information and share it on social media. The TMC leader weighed in on the significance of social media in today's time and said it plays a "pivotal role". "Twitter threads travel faster than diplomatic cables. We need to up our ante as well," he added.
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Abhishek Banerjee also spoke about the opposition parties' stance on national security and interests. He said that while he might fight head-on with the central government over political differences, he ensures that they don't interfere with national interests.
"A lot of people, especially the people who don't follow politics closely, think that what will be the opposition's stand when it comes to national security or sovereignty of the country," he said.
"Where I might differ with the ruling dispensation or the political party, I will fight with them tooth and nail. But when it comes to the national security of my country. I will stand firmly and serve towards what is in the best interest of my nation. I will not let my political interests come in the way of my national interest," Banerjee added.
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Abhishek Banerjee is a member of the all-party delegation led by JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, along with Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Brij Lala (BJP), John Brittas (CPI-M), Pradan Baruah (BJP), Hemang Joshi (BJP), former minister Salman Khurshid and former diplomat Mohan Kumar.
The delegation's aim is to brief India's international partners about the nation's stance on terrorism and inform them about the response given to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack by Indian armed forces.
Pak's entire system based on terrorism
Banerjee's delegation leader Sanjay Kumar Jha also slammed Pakistan and said that the neighbour country's entire system is based on terrorism.
"All the political parties are together. We are going to the world to tell the truth about Pakistan and its Army... Pakistan's entire system is based on terrorism, their way and their politics are like this only - to equip, to sponsor, to train them and then send them across the border," he said while addressing the Indian diaspora in Singapore.
Jha affirmed that with Operation Sindoor, India's target was to wipe out terrorists who are trained, financed, and have a launch pad on the Pakistani side. "This operation started at night so that no civilian is targeted. No civilian was hurt, no military infrastructure was targeted on May 7 when this Operation Sindoor started," he added.
BJP MP Hemang Joshi, who is also a part of Jha's delegation group, said that they met with Singapore's foreign affairs minister, a group of their MPs, delegates of their Chamber of Commerce, and business leaders. "We have reiterated that India is a peace-loving country and we have responded with restraint and responsibility, but any act of terror will be considered an Act of War from Pakistan," he told news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi asserted that everyone is convinced that Pakistan is actually investigating terrorism.
Operation Sindoor
On May 7, India carried out targeted strikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under 'Operation Sindoor'.
This operation struck terrorist infrastructure linked to outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Operation Sindoor was a calculated and focused response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
