"India peace-loving country, but will respond firmly to provocation": Anurag Thakur
Cairo [Egypt], June 4 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur, who is part of the all-party delegation led by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) or NCP SP MP Supriya Sule, reaffirmed India's commitment to peace and issued a stern warning that any provocation or threat to the nation's security will be met with firm and decisive action.
He emphasised that while India stands as a peace-loving nation, it will not hesitate to act decisively if its sovereignty or the safety of its citizens is threatened.
'The safety of 140 crore Indians and the security of our country's borders is our utmost priority. We have delivered a clear message to the world that India will take every step necessary to safeguard its citizens, its unity, and its territorial integrity,' Anurag Thakur told ANI.
Reiterating India's long-standing stance of non-aggression, Thakur stated, 'We never attack anyone. We are a peace-loving country, but we will not remain quiet if someone disturbs that peace.'
Anurag Thakur reinforced India's uncompromising stance on terrorism and said that countries using nuclear capabilities as a shield while fostering terror groups will not be able to intimidate India.
'Those who hide behind nuclear power, shelter, train terror outfits and spread cross-border terrorism, must understand -- nuclear threat will not work,' Thakur said, in a pointed reference widely seen as directed at Pakistan.
He further accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism, saying, 'In all these countries, we told the people in the government and others that Pakistan sponsors terrorism. The top brass of the Pakistani army attends the funeral of designated terrorists.'
Calling for collective global action, Thakur stressed the need for an international alliance to eradicate terrorism.
'Everyone condemned terrorism. There is a need for a global coalition against terrorism to uproot this disease from the entire world,' he said.
The multi-party delegation, led by Supriya Sule, concluded its official visit to Egypt. On Tuesday, members met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in the New Administrative Capital.
After the meeting concluded, Badr Abdelatty condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 civilians and said that such attacks can't be tolerated.
Labelling the relationship between India and Egypt as 'historic,' Abdelatty added that Egypt and India need to enhance their economic relationship to match the excellent political relationship between the two countries and their leaders.
The delegation led by Supriya Sule includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Anand Sharma, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, V Muraleedharan, Former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Syed Akbaruddin, Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN.
The Supriya Sule-led parliamentary delegation also paid a floral tribute to Indian soldiers at the Heliopolis War Memorial, who laid their lives in World War I and World War II.
Earlier, Congress MP Manish Tewari said the Indian all-party parliamentary delegation began its visit to Egypt with a series of high-level interactions with key members of the Egyptian Parliament and foreign affairs experts, focusing on security cooperation and the fight against state-sponsored terrorism.
Tewari said that as part of their diplomatic outreach, the delegation also visited the Egyptian Council of Foreign Relations, a leading think tank, where they met former Foreign Minister Mohamed Orabi and other senior ambassadors, both serving and retired.
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 key countries.
The multi-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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