The government faced tough questions on its West Asia Policy during a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee for external affairs chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday, people familiar with the matter said.
The meeting, held behind closed doors, focused on India’s relations with West Asia, Jaishankar said in a social media post. It was also attended by minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita, foreign secretary Vikram Misri and secretary (overseas Indian affairs) Sripriya Ranganathan.
Jaishankar faced questions from several of the MPs about India’s policy towards the region, especially since military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran in February that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggered a war, the people said on condition of anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}Jaishankar faced questions from several of the MPs about India’s policy towards the region, especially since military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran in February that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggered a war, the people said on condition of anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}The MPs questioned India’s silence on the killing of the Iranian leader – the government refrained from formally condemning the killing of Khamenei – and criticised the perception that India was perceived as being in “Israel’s corner”, they said.
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The MPs also expressed concern at the conflicts across West Asia and the situation that has prevailed since the terror attacks by Hamas in October 2023 and the government’s overall response, the people said.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7, also figured in the discussions, with the MPs pointing to the open-ended nature of the pact and Bangladesh exploring the possibility of joining the arrangement, the people said.
Jaishankar said in his social media post that he highlighted India’s “close ties with the Gulf & WANA [West Asia and North Africa] region, including our longstanding partnerships and cooperation in trade, investments, energy, maritime and people to people domains”.
The people said Jaishankar had defended the government’s approach towards West Asia by saying that India has to work along with all the key players in the region.