All-party delegation led by Baijayant Panda interacts with Gulf Research Center Chairman and Founder Abdulaziz Al Sager
According to its official website, the Gulf Research Center was founded in July 2000 with a vision to conduct scholarly, high-quality research on all aspects of the wider Gulf region, including the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran, Iraq, and Yemen.
During the delegation's engagements on Thursday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday informed the Saudi officials that Pakistan is propagating terrorism and targeting Indian citizens, and urged them to bring Pakistan back to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List to curb terror financing.
'27 lakh members of the Indian diaspora reside and work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia...Whoever the delegation met, we told them how Pakistan is propagating terrorism and how Indian citizens are targeted. We told them that Pakistan should be brought back to the FATF Grey List. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a member of the FATF. They helped us in 2018,' Owaisi told ANI.
He is part of a multi-party delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Panda under Operation Sindoor outreach to convey India's unified stance against terrorism and seek international support to hold Pakistan accountable.
During his visit, Owaisi interacted with Saudi officials and highlighted Pakistan's false propaganda about India.
He emphasised that India is home to over 14.5 crore proud Muslims, showcasing the country's rich Islamic heritage and esteemed scholars, thereby refuting Pakistan's claims of representing all Muslims.
Owaisi said that the multi-party delegation met with Abdullah ibn Muhammad, head of Saudi Arabia's Shura Council, and Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Regarding concerns raised over the issue of talks between India and Pakistan, he added that talks were held after the Mumbai terror attack and the Pathankot attack. Still, they yielded no results and only losses.
In a strong demonstration of India's united political front against terrorism, an all-party parliamentary delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to strengthen diplomatic ties and explore avenues of cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia.
Maj Gen Abdulrahman Alharbi, Chair of the India-Saudi Arabia Council Friendship Committee of the Shura Council, warmly welcomed the delegation.
Owaisi is a member of the delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, also includes BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP Phangnon Konyak; BJP MP Rekha Sharma; AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi; Satnam Singh Sandhu MP; Ghulam Nabi Azad; and Ambassador Harsh Shringla.
The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Algeria.
The all-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI)
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