All-party delegation slams Pak for promoting its army chief
New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is leading one of the seven all-party delegations as part of India's diplomatic outreach, on Tuesday took a swipe at Pakistan's decision to promote its chief of army staff Asim Munir as Field Marshal, while Congress MP Shashi Tharoor-led group in Guyana's National Assembly conveyed India's message against terrorism.
Former Union minister MJ Akbar, who is part of the Prasad-led delegation that is touring six European countries, asserted India's clear and thought-through 'no first use' doctrine on nuclear weapons.
'Pakistan is a military state, it is no longer a civilian state. And a military state has a vested interest in conflict because conflict justifies its presence… now it sometimes thinks it can provide a nuclear shelter to terrorists. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has made it very clear that there can be no nuclear blackmail,' Akbar said in Paris.
The delegation met the members of Parliament in the French National Assembly led by Thierry Tesson, the president of the India France Friendship group.
Hitting out a Pakistan, Prasad said: 'The most hilarious aspect was that the general whose forces were defeated at the hands of India decisively was promoted to Field Marshal. This is state of denial.'
Munir became only the second army officer in Pakistan's history after Ayub Khan to be elevated to Field Marshal.
'We have not come to Paris and meeting you in happier times. But we have to come to convey some straight message. Terrorism is not India-centric, terrorism is now a global phenomenon. In the majority of the cases, terrorists, their patrons, and the terror groups based in Pakistan have direct or indirect involvement. Today, there are 52 designated terrorists by UN,' Prasad said while talking to French journalists.
'The distinction between the state of Pakistan and terrorism has withered away. Terrorism as an instrument of state policy is a part of the military state of Pakistan,' the BJP MP added.
In Guyana, Congress MP Tharoor said the delegation's primary objective was to raise awareness about India's stance on terrorism and recent events in the subcontinent.
'Asked for evidence of Pakistani complicity in the #PahalgamTerroristAttack, I pointed to the claims of The Resistance Front, a known frontal organ of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the attendance of uniformed Pakistani military and police personnel at a terrorist's funeral — with picture!'
The Tharoor-led delegation will be in Panama from May 27-29.
The delegation led by JD(U) lawmaker Sanjay Jha called on Sim Ann, senior minister of state for foreign affairs and home affairs in the government of Singapore. Senior minister of state Janil Puthucheary and local MPs Vikram Nair and Saktiandi Supaat were also present.
Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was admitted to a hospital in Kuwait. 'He is stable, under medical supervision, and will be undergoing some tests and procedures. His contributions to the meetings in Bahrain and Kuwait were highly impactful, and he is disappointed at being bedridden. We will deeply miss his presence in Saudi Arabia and Algeria,' delegation head and BJP MP Baijayant Panda said in a post on X.
Indian delegations are travelling to 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan's designs and India's response to terror after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
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.
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