MPs’ delegations look to expose Pak terror links
The multi-party delegations, headed by Shashi Tharoor, K Kanimozhi, Srikant Shinde, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sanjay Jha, Baijayant Panda and Supriya Sule, are visiting key international capitals
The multi-party delegations visiting 33 countries are trying to expose Pakistan’s duplicity on combating terror by showing pictures of the country’s army general attending funeral of terrorists killed during Operation Sindoor, the discovery of 9/11 accused Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, and how repeated peace initiatives by New Delhi have met with disappointment and more attacks, people familiar with the matter said.
All seven multi-party delegations, headed by Shashi Tharoor, K Kanimozhi, Srikant Shinde, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sanjay Jha, Baijayant Panda and Supriya Sule, are visiting key international capitals to exchange views on furthering cooperation in counterterrorism and combating radicalism, especially after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead. Two of the delegations to Russia and Japan concluded their visits on Saturday with “constructive meetings”. Another team, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, departed for Guyana on Saturday.
The delegation to Russian capital Moscow, led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, concluded its visit on Saturday and spoke about the United States’ claims of its intervention in the ceasefire. “When something like this happens, different heads of state speak to each other... But, I think independent countries decide what to do independently,” news agency ANI reported her as saying.
She added: “Pakistan chooses to protect the terrorists, they go ahead and spread false propaganda. We had only targeted terror hubs. India is very clear, we would not come to the table for peace talks when Pakistan continues attacking us.”
On Friday, the delegation met Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Russia, and Senators. In a post on X, Kanimozhi described the meeting as “constructive” and said the two sides “exchanged views on issues of mutual concern with respect to terrorism”.
Some leaders aware of the matter underlined how India acted “responsibly” during Operation Sindoor and hit only terror infrastructure while others pointed out that Pakistan tried to create religious enmity.
Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar said: “Our message was clear to all the leaders who spoke to Indian leaders that if Pakistan wants a ceasefire, then they simply have to call the Indian military command... After the Indian forces attacked the air bases in Pakistan, responding to Pakistan’s escalation, the Pakistani DGMO called requesting the Indian side, and we accepted their request.”
RJD lawmaker Prem Chand Gupta indirectly mentioned the Chechen terrorists in Moscow and said: “Terrorism is not only a problem for India. The whole world is suffering. Russians have also suffered very badly... Our message to the people and the government of Russia is that everybody has to come together to stop this provocation of terrorist activities that is happening from Pakistan... Any terrorist activity in the world, directly or indirectly, has some connection to Pakistan... They have imposed four wars and hundreds of terror attacks on us...”
AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal maintained that India is a peaceful country with the motto of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. “But if anything is put up on us, like a terror attack, we will respond to that. 26 people were killed in Pahalgam, but more painful was that they were killed based on religion and in front of their families... This was an attempt made by Pakistan to create panic and enmity based on religion. But, they couldn’t succeed,” he said.
In Tokyo, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Abhishek Banerjee hit out at Pakistan and said: “If terrorism is a rabid dog, Pakistan is a wild handler.”
“We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not kneel to fear. I belong to a political party that is in the Opposition. It is in the public domain that I have said that Pakistan needs to be taught a lesson in the language they understand. If terrorism is a rabid dog, Pakistan is a wild handler. We first need to bring the world together to combat this wild handler. Otherwise, this wild handler will end up breeding and raising more rabid dogs. We will make sure India is responsible. All our attacks and actions have been responsible, made with precision and non-escalatory,” he said.
JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, who led the delegation, said: “The Pahalgam terror attack is not a simple incident. Pakistan has been fighting a proxy war for the last 40 years, as it cannot have a direct war with us...India has faced the menace of terrorism for several decades. They targeted tourists after asking about their religion. Jha added that Japanese officials were very receptive to the discussions. “We showed them photographs of Pakistan’s Army General attending the funeral of terrorists. They are giving them a state funeral. We told them that Osama Bin Laden was found nowhere else but in Pakistan.”
According to ANI, during a discussion, Jha showed a photo of Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a US-designated global terrorist and high-level Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, leading funeral prayers for the terrorists killed in the Indian missile strikes in the presence of Pakistani Army officers.
The parliamentary team also visited the Tama Cemetery in Japan and honoured freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose on the eve of his birth anniversary.
The delegation, led by BJP’s Baijayant Panda, reached its first stop — Bahrain — on Saturday. They will also visit Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Algeria.
“First, we will be going to Bahrain. Then we will be going to Kuwait, then Saudi Arabia and lastly Algeria...the painful Pahalgam incident, our neighbouring country, Pakistan is running terrorist camps and supporting them. These terrorists come to India and carry out terrorist activities. We will speak about these things to these four nations,” said AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, a key member of the team.
In Dubai, India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, hailed the visit of the all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde to the country to highlight India’s stance on the issue of terrorism.
“The narrative, our thoughts, our perspectives, were well received, very well reciprocated. And again, it was a clear reciprocation, a clear reiteration of the fact that in the UAE, we have a true strategic partner, a friend, whom we can rely on,” the ambassador told PTI.
With agency inputs
