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IMF funding to Pakistan akin to backing terror, says Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday appealed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reconsider its recent $1 billion bailout package to Pakistan, while asserting that it was akin to terror funding as a large chunk of this loan will be diverted to create terror infrastructure.
Addressing Indian Air Force personnel at Bhuj Air Force Station in Gujarat, news agency PTI quoted Singh as having said, 'Certainly, a large part of IMF's $one billion assistance will be used to fund the terror infrastructure. Will this not be considered indirect funding by the IMF, an international organisation?'
'Any financial assistance to Pakistan is no less than terror funding. The funds India gives to the IMF should not be used, directly or indirectly, to create terror infrastructure in Pakistan or any other country,' he said.
In its board meeting in Washington on May 9, the IMF cleared a $1 billion tranche for Pakistan as part of its $ 7-billion funding programme for the country, which India had protested.
Singh also spoke of the effectiveness of 'BrahMos' supersonic missiles in Operation Sindoor, stating that the missiles showed Pakistan the 'light of day in the darkness of night'.
Pakistan on 'probation'
Singh said Operation Sindoor was merely paused and India has kept Pakistan on 'probation' and will watch its behaviour.
'If the behaviour improves, it is fine. But if there is any disturbance, harshest punishment will be given,' Singh said, adding that India's response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 was only a 'trailer' and India 'will show the full picture, if need be'.
'Attacking and eliminating terrorism is the new normal of new India,' he said.
The Defence Minister said Pakistan has again started trying to rebuild the terror infrastructure destroyed by India last week and that Islamabad will 'spend' the money collected from its common citizens to pay around ₹14 crore to Masood Azhar, the head of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad and a UN designated terrorist.
'The Pakistan government has announced financial assistance to rebuild the terror infrastructure of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Muridke and Bahawalpur,' Singh said.
Tharoor & Owaisi to be part of MPs delegations
New Delhi has put together a diplomatic outreach that will involve sending more than half a dozen all-party delegations, comprising Members of Parliament (MPs) and former ministers, to different world capitals starting next week.
The delegations, which are set to include Opposition MPs, including Congress' Shashi Tharoor and AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, will put forth India's case about Pakistan's nurturing and sponsoring of terrorism in front of the world community.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will brief the MPs before they depart. Apart from the Bharatiya Janata Party, MPs of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, and others will be part of the delegations, which could leave by late next week for a period of 10 days.
Sources said former Union minister Anurag Thakur, BJP's Bhubaneswar MP and former civil servant Aparajita Sarangi, Congress' Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Salman Khurshid and Amar Singh, TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Janata Dal (United)'s Sanjay Jha, Biju Janata Dal's Sasmit Patra, John Brittas of the CPI(M), Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT), Supriya Sule of NCP (SP), DMK's K Kanimozhi, AIMIM's Owaisi and Aam Aadmi Party's Vikramjit Sawhney are likely to be part of the delegations.
Khurshid, a former external affairs minister, is set to lead a delegation of seven MPs to south and southeast Asia. NCP (SP)'s Sule will head the delegation that will visit countries in West Asia and Africa, while Congress' Tewari-led delegation will travel to Europe and some West Asian countries.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had spoken to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharje about the government's diplomatic outreach.
Ramesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not join the all-party meeting, neither has he agreed to the demand for a special Parliament session and has now called for a meeting of only the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chief ministers 'to take political mileage from Operation Sindoor', and now wants MPs from all parties to go abroad for explaining India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan.
'The diplomatic initiative is badly needed but why these double standards?' Ramesh asked, but said 'the Congress always takes a position in the national interest and never politicised national security issues like the BJP does. Hence, the Congress will definitely be a part of these delegations.'
In a development related to Operation Sindoor, the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) on Friday urged the industry to suspend all business transactions with Turkiye and Azerbaijan. The Confederation of All India Traders announced a boycott of all trade and commercial engagement with Turkiye and Azerbaijan, citing their recent 'support' for Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
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