Delegates stress India’s zero tolerance on terror

INdia’s all-party delegations emphasised the rural area’s “ young normal” of zero in tolerance against cross-border terrorist act, during their get together with global leaders as part of the diplomatic outreach, stressing that Indian armed forces targeted UN-designated terrorist headquarters located in Pakistan under Operation Sindoor. The delegations also underlined Pakistan government’s deep connections with its non-state actors and how it has launched a proxy war against India. Several leaders, who are part of the seven multi-party delegations travelling to 33 global capitals, said they are receiving warm response and support for India.In Guyana, Prime Minister Mark Phillips hosted a dinner for the Indian delegation led by Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor. Another delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Srikant Shinde arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and held a meeting with the Central African country’s foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and senate president Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge. DRC Senate is equivalent to the Rajya Sabha. The all-party delegation led by DMK lawmaker K Kanimozhi met Barbara Žvokelj, Secretary-General, ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovenia. In Paris, the delegation led by BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad met the French think tank while in Seoul, JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha-led group met the South Korea’s foreign minister, vice foreign minister and the standing committee chairman of defence. The delegation headed by NCP(SP) lawmaker Supriya Sule met Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Mohammed Al Thani, junior minister for foreign affairs of Qatar, in Doha.In Doha, former Union minister Anand Sharma, who is part of the Supriya Sule-led delegation, highlighted that it was not the first time India has been a target of terrorist attacks from across the border. He emphasised that terrorist outfits Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba — both UN designated — are headquartered at Bahawalpur and Muridke in Pakistan, besides The Resistance Front (TRF) — the outfit that claimed the responsibility of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians — is a front of LeT. “Pakistan is a sham of a democracy, which is run by its military and the ISI. They not only train, fund, arm, but also shelter and protect these terrorist organisations, which is reprehensible,” Sharma said. “If UN-designated terrorist headquarters in Pakistan were targeted, why would they attack our military installations and even civilians? We have come here to inform and form public opinion, sensitise the people of the seriousness of this situation as it prevails,” the senior Congress leader added.Indian delegations are travelling to various countries to reach out to the international community on Pakistan’s designs and India’s response to terror after the Pahalgam terror attack.India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 under Operation Sindoor, following which Pakistan attempted to attack the Indian military bases over the next three days. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.After the meeting, Sule said: “The neighbourhood which we have nurtured, valued, respected, and always wanted good relations with, but unfortunately, these activities are connected to various non-state actors... The Pakistan government has deep connections with all of them. What India has been through in the last few weeks has been very unfortunate and the world needs to know about it.”Later, Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Vipul, described the visit as “successful” as the delegation has been able to give a message that the “entire world has to come together” against terrorism. “That message was very well received by our Qatari friends,” Vipul added.JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha said his delegation asked South Korea — a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council — “to blacklist Pakistan, as it uses the financial assistance in terrorism.”The delegation also addressed South Korea’s concerns over nuclear weapons.“All those whom we have met are aware of the heinous crime in Pahalgam, where people were segregated based on religion...This outreach’s positive outcome is the support we are getting...It is in our policy that India will never use nuclear weapons, firstly, but if another country attacks India, then it will retaliate…,” Jha added.At Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, group leader Shinde said India received a good response in the UAE. “Our message of zero tolerance against terrorism has been very well appreciated by the UAE… On Monday, we had a meeting with DRC’s MoS Foreign Affairs. We presented how India has been suffering through terrorism and fighting it for years now... DRC has been in conflict zone for years. They know how terrorism, cross-border terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism impacts a country,” Shinde added.After the meetings in Guyana, Tharoor said the team had an “excellent meeting” with the former president of Guyana and current vice-president, Bharrat Jagdeo, in the presidential palace.“In addition to his expression of strong sympathy and understanding for India’s concerns in the wake of recent events, our conversation also spanned a range of topics relating to Guyana’s record-breaking 30% annual economic growth and development plans following the discovery of oil and gas,” he added.(With agency inputs)