All-party delegations meet Japan foreign minister, UAE tolerance minister
Two all-party delegations sent by India to forge a united front in the campaign against terrorism met Japan's foreign minister, Takeshi Iwaya, and UAE tolerance minister Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak on Thursday and briefed them on New Delhi's commitment to fight all forms of terror.
The two delegations had left India on Wednesday for Southeast Asia, West Asia, and Africa to inform key interlocutors about India's new approach for combating terrorism sponsored by Pakistan and to explain the rationale behind Operation Sindoor, which was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack last month that killed 26 civilians.
The delegation led by Janata Dal-United MP Sanjay Kumar Jha met Iwaya and informed him of India's 'national consensus and resolute commitment to combat terrorism in all forms', according to a social media post by the Indian embassy in Tokyo.
Iwaya reiterated 'Japan's support to India's fight against terrorism and expressed appreciation for the restraint shown by the Indian side'. He also 'called for punishing the perpetrators of terror activities', the embassy said.
The delegation, which includes Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Hemang Joshi and Pradhan Baruah, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI-M MP John Brittas, Congress leader and former foreign minister Salman Khurshid and former ambassador Mohan Kumar, will also travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, currently on a visit to Europe, said in a social media post about the delegation visiting Japan: 'Great to see #TeamIndia taking our message of zero tolerance for terrorism to the world.'
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri too was in Japan on Thursday for the foreign secretary-vice minister dialogue and met vice minister for foreign affairs Takehiro Funakoshi and delivered 'India's message on zero tolerance for terror', the embassy said. Their discussions also covered advancing the bilateral special strategic and global partnership.
Misri also met senior deputy foreign minister Hiroyuki Namazu and discussed bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and other issues.
The all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde met the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) minister for tolerance, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi and informed him of India's commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the Indian embassy in the Emirates said on social media.
This delegation, which will travel to Liberia, Congo, and Sierra Leone, includes BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj, Atul Garg, and Manan Kumar Mishra, IUML MP Mohammed Basheer, BJD MP Sasmit Patra, former minister and BJP leader SS Ahluwalia, and former ambassador Sujan Chinoy.
Meanwhile, another all-party delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi left New Delhi on Thursday to visit Russia, Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, and Spain. This delegation includes Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, National Conference MP Mian Altaf Ahmad, BJP MP Brijesh Chowta, RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta, AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, and former ambassadors Manjeev Puri and Jawed Ashraf.
Members of these delegations were briefed ahead of their departure on Tuesday by foreign secretary Misri, who highlighted India's 'new normal' in tackling cross-border terrorism as exemplified by the military strikes under Operation Sindoor on terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan, people familiar with the matter said.
Misri also told the delegations that India will no longer allow terrorists to carry out their activities under the cover of Pakistan's 'nuclear blackmail' and that the Pakistani military establishment will have to pay for attacks through its terrorist proxies, the people said on condition of anonymity.
The delegations have been asked to raise the world community's lacklustre record in holding the Pakistani military and intelligence to account despite considerable evidence provided by India that linked it to past terror attacks such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, the people said.
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