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Hans India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Europe can't show any flexibility on countering terrorism: Denmark's former Ambassador backs India's stance
Denmark, which will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union this year, continues to back India's Operation Sindoor and New Delhi's call for a global, united effort to combat the threat of terrorism. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Freddy Svane, the former Danish Ambassador to India, asserted that there can be no flexibility on the European side as far as countering terrorism is concerned. Lauding India's Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach mission, the seasoned diplomat also backed calls to put Pakistan back on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Excerpts: IANS: India is sending a very strong global message against terrorism with the visit of all-party delegations to various countries, one of which was also in Copenhagen till Saturday. How do you see this entire exercise? Freddy Svane: I think it's very important that the message that you are going to spread is listened to, heard and action taken on it. Therefore, I am pleased, having also served as Ambassador to India for more than 10 years, that India has on the backdrop of this really, really sad and deadly, inhumane Pahalgam incident, now stands up and speaks against terror. We all need to really move away from words towards actions. Therefore, the decision of the Government of India, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to send a group of parliamentarians across the globe to speak about how we jointly fight terror is so important and very well received, also here in Denmark. IANS: Do you think that India has emerged as a stronger nation during Operation Sindoor? Freddy Svane: I think so. Even now, I asked some of the visiting Indian parliamentarians here that is that a new thing? As I have never in my life experienced that India would be sending such all-party delegations across the globe to really voice its concerns about terror and the impact of terror. I was told there was some similar thing done decades back. But the fact that India is now standing up on this is important. It will give India a special role and a special place because India now stands up against terror. That's a new normal, and nobody should be in any doubt of what will happen if terror is not stopped. We are working closely together, as a world and as one big family. IANS: Pakistan, however, isn't learning from its mistakes and continues to export terror to India... Freddy Svane: I lived in India, as you all know, for 10 years, over two periods of time. We lived with terror, we felt the impact and so forth. Obviously, we all knew that Pakistan was behind them one way or another. You might argue that there are different faces in Pakistan; there's the political and the army. But, when it boils down to terror, there can't be two faces. There's only one ugly face, and we know that Pakistan has been instigating a lot of terror attacks against India. Sadly, with this incident, the time is really ripe for a conscious joint and coordinated response to terror, and thereby also calling out Pakistan. IANS: Do you think it is high time to put Pakistan back on the FATF grey list? Freddy Svane: I think so. Terror doesn't come out of the blue. It's something that has to be financed, structured and so forth. So, it's a long, concerted action that lies behind all this terror. And therefore, you need to do whatever you can globally, also regionally, to secure that we don't have financing that will flow into the streams of terror. It has to stop. Yes, Pakistan has to be put where it belongs. So, they have to be put on that list, no doubt about that. IANS: You first met Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. India has grown tremendously under his leadership over the last decade or so... Freddy Svane: That's true. I have seen India growing. I have a huge passion for India, and so will be known by many. I was the first European Ambassador when I was in service, really to meet the honourable Prime Minister today. I met him back in May 2011 in Gujarat, and we had a very nice and long interaction. That, of course, grew over the years. When I came back as Ambassador from a second tenure in 2019, we continued, and we developed the Green Strategic Partnership. So, I think we have a very, very close and good relationship. I have seen India growing, becoming much more outward-looking. India has its own role. It's a country, a nation, which is really trying to define its own trajectory towards what is called 'Viksit Bharat' and I am a strong believer myself in 'Viksit Bharat', meaning that, of course, we have to work together and that's what Denmark and India have been doing. Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India has grown and will continue to grow, no doubt about that. We need a strong India, no doubt about that either. IANS: PM Modi has established himself as a very strong global leader over the years and has proved it yet again during Operation Sindoor... Freddy Svane: Yes, he has. In my interaction with the visiting parliamentary delegation, I also highlighted that when India had the G20 presidency, it rose as a global power by calling the Global South, and by also inviting the African Union into the G20. All that is a combination, the agenda of India and Prime Minister Modi to be a global player that will have a role to secure that the world will be a better, greener and more sustainable place for all of us in the future. Obviously, Prime Minister Modi, by his resolute action through Operation Sindoor, has really shown that India has drawn new red lines and that is the new normal. You should not really be in any doubt that India is a power that is ready, willing to act whenever it's needed. That's a new normal here, thanks to Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. IANS: Do you think Operation Sindoor has boosted PM Modi's image further and added to the numerous achievements of his government in the last 11 very successful years? Freddy Svane: Of course, the fact that all party delegations are sent to various countries in various parts of the world just to speak about Operation Sindoor and the atrocities proves it. It shows that it is time now to stand up against terror and the way in which Pakistan, almost throughout its lifetime, has instigated terror attacks. India has shown that it has grown and is a global player, a very, very important player and that India can take action. You need a strong leader like Prime Minister Modi who can steer that kind of direction and make it clear that I am the man and I am the true defender of India. Therefore, his popularity, also outside of India, has grown, and there will be no person on this planet who will be in doubt of who is in charge and who is the leader of India, which is not only the most populous nation on earth but also the fourth largest economy of the world. So, Prime Minister Modi has grown and is being seen across the world as a very, very important, strong and strategic thinking leader, which is so important for all of us. A strong India, a strong Prime Minister is what we are looking for, and that is what we have got, though sadly on a very bad backdrop of this deadly Pahalgam incident. But when times are bad and things have to be dealt with, you also need someone who can move from words to actions. That has happened, and it is really fantastic. IANS: Do you see European countries on the same page as far as countering state-sponsored terrorism is concerned? Freddy Svane: This is a tricky question. I think, at least nowadays, and given whatever happened in India and given the atrocities and inhuman behaviour, there can be no flexibility on the European side as to how we have to fight terror. Terror is a global menace that we have to really fight, and whatever tool we have, we should deploy. I do hope that, with this tour of Indian parliamentary groups, there is a common understanding and a kind of awareness that we have to move away from words to actions. Of course, I will be following a little bit closely what will come out of all these visits to various countries - will there be more coordinated, more joint efforts to fight terror, or will we just see another range of words and no actions? I think the answer lies very much in the way in which India will take these visits and say we have sent all party delegations to these countries, important countries across the globe, and now there is a common sense that we have to do and deal with terror and let's propose some actions. So, I hope that India will come up with that kind of action programme, saying this is what we need to do, and hopefully, countries not just in Europe but also other places on this planet will join in and say terror is a global menace and we have to fight it. Terror will happen as long as we are not united. Now we seem to be united, thanks to India and Prime Minister Modi. IANS: Pakistan is left with very few 'all-weather friends', is it not high time that these countries too realise that they are backing a terror state? Freddy Svane: Yeah, but I'm not surprised that some countries have placed themselves in that camp. I think we all have to get together and find and define the common position because terror, regardless of how we define what terror is, and what kind of components will go into terror, cannot be in any country, any population, or any people's interests to face the menace of terror. Therefore, we have to stand together. I hope that the diplomatic outreach will at least secure that more and more countries will join the camp of India and say, enough is enough. Let's now move from words, diplomatically framed words, to actions. Therefore, as I said, I hope, as a former Ambassador to India, that India and Prime Minister Modi will stand up and say this is the catalogue of actions we need to take. IANS: What was your first reaction on hearing about the extradition of 2008 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana to India, who was also prosecuted for providing material support for a terror attack in Denmark? Freddy Svane: I was so relieved. I think it shows that justice will prevail at some point in time, and those who are committing terror and terror-related activities will be brought to justice. There should be no safe haven for terrorists. When I saw the extradition of Rana to India, I felt relieved because India has been pushing for that for many, many years, and finally, the extradition happened. I do hope that it sends a very strong message across that you can't hide, use whatever kind of institutional tool that you might access to prevent yourself from being brought to justice. So, it was a great, great, great achievement, I will say! IANS: Denmark is also the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership. How do you see this bilateral relationship progressing? Freddy Svane: I don't see any limits to it. If I may say so. It all started with my first meeting with the honourable Chief Minister, now Prime Minister, back in May 2011 in Gujarat. The two of us discussed how we could work together at that time. I was the Danish Ambassador, but we had a kind of shared vision, a mission to move towards a greener and sustainable development. In that context, we developed this kind of idea. We had, in fact, in 2012-13 held a number of seminars, workshops in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, where we put focus on renewables, wind, water and so forth. I see there's a direct line between this and the fact that we have this green strategic partnership, I think it combines -- as honourable Prime Minister has said many times -- it combines the skills of India and the skills of Denmark. India has a lot of skills. I went to Khavda, the Adani big project, last year. I was so blown away by the magnitude and the kind of strategy aligned behind it. It was an eye-opener, and it shows that the green transition, green strategic cooperation, whatever we call it, is so important. It's not only good for bilateral relations but a must for all of us. We need to secure that we have a better and more sustainable world so that we can look into the future. Our next generations will be suffering if we don't crack this climate crisis. Therefore, I was so pleased when honourable Prime Minister Modi came to Denmark, and we could really take the green strategic partnership forward, which is so important. I do hope that it will also inspire others because what can be done bilaterally is not enough. It calls for a kind of global action, like the fight against terror.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pawan Khera's 2018 book reference after Shashi Tharoor's 'zealots' swipe: ‘The shameless…'
Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday took a subtle jibe at party colleague Shashi Tharoor by sharing a passage from his 2018 book 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister', in which the MP criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for what he called the 'shameless exploitation' of the 2016 surgical strikes for electoral gain. Pawan Khera's post on X comes after Shashi Tharoor's statements in Panama, where he lauded India's counter-terrorism measures, including the 2016 Uri surgical strike and the 2019 Balakot airstrike, as marking a shift in India's approach to terrorism. 'I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 - 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister',' Pawan Khera posted in response to Shashi Tharoor's recent remarks praising the Narendra Modi government's Operation Sindoor. In the underlined passage from Tharoor's book, reads, 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 surgical strikes along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as party election tool--something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier--marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship.' In a post on X earlier on Thursday, Tharoor clarified and pointed out that he spoke only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars. "After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight where with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this -- but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC in the past, I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars," Tharoor said in an apparent dig at the Congress leaders, especially Udit Raj who criticised the MP over his statement in Panama. 'My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB,' Tharoor clarified. Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, while speaking in Panama, reportedly said that when "for the first time" India breached the LoC between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base that was something we had not done before. Tagging Tharoor's remarks, Udit Raj said, "My dear Shashi Tharoor, Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as super spokesperson of BJP, even declaring (you) as foreign minister before landing in India. How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi , India never crossed LoC and International border." "In 1965 Indian Army entered Pakistan at multiple points, which completely surprised the Pakistanis in the Lahore sector. In 1971, India tore Pakistan in two pieces and during UPA government several surgical strikes were unleashed but drum beating was not done to encash (it) politically," he said. Udit Raj, chairman of the Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress Other Than Professionals, asked how you could be so dishonest to the party that gave you so much. Raj's post on X was also reposted by Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera. Later, speaking with the media, Raj hit out at Tharoor for his remarks, saying "What was 1971? Under Manmohan Singh, many surgical strikes took place. Modi ji is making a mistake, he should make Tharoor super spokesperson of the BJP." The BJP would not find anyone better than him to argue for them, he said. Tharoor has gone there to expose Pakistan but is busy lauding the prime minister, Raj said. Taking a swipe at Tharoor, Khera posted a picture which shows officers of the 4 Sikh Regiment posing outside a captured Pakistani police station in Burki, Lahore district. "This image is from the Battle of Burki (also known as the Battle of Lahore, 1965), a significant engagement during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, fought between Indian infantry units and Pakistani armoured forces," Khera said. "Burki is a village located southeast of Lahore, near the India-Pakistan border, approximately 11 km from Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, connected to the city by a bridge over the Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) Canal. CC @ShashiTharoor," Khera posted. In another post, Khera put out media report which quoted former prime minister Manmohan Singh as saying that India carried out multiple surgical strikes under the UPA rule. "Former PM Manmohan Singh : Many Surgical Strikes Conducted Under UPA…. CC @ShashiTharoor," Khera said in his post which was reposted by Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh. (With inputs from PTI)
India Gazette
26-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
World condemns terrorism, stands with India's zero-tolerance: MoS Defence Sanjay Seth
Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], May 26 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth on Monday said that following Operation Sindoor, the entire world has shown strong support for India's fight against terrorism. Speaking on the global response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, Seth said, 'The world is seeing this terrorism. The world condemned the killing of 26 people in the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan keeps threatening about its nuclear capabilities. It is a country that harbours terrorism.' He added, 'Our MPs are going around the world and telling people about it. The common people of other nations are also suffering from terrorism and are standing with India. The world is standing with PM Modi's resolution of zero-tolerance against terrorism.' Minister of State Sanjay Seth's remarks on global support for India's fight against terrorism echo the efforts of Indian leaders like Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya. Currently touring the Americas, this Indian All-Party Parliamentary Delegation met with Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana, to reinforce India's zero-tolerance stance against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, a respected statesman who served 12 years as President of Guyana, strongly condemned the recent Pahalgam terror attack and expressed firm support for India's Operation Sindoor. Reflecting this shared commitment, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya said, 'Our delegation met with Vice President of Guyana, H.E. Bharrat Jagdeo, and spoke to him on a wide range of issues, including India's fight against terrorism.' This reinforces the growing international solidarity with India's zero-tolerance stance against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Earlier, Surya also addressed students at Texila American University, where he spoke about Bharat's zero-tolerance doctrine towards terrorism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Emphasising India's long-standing battle against cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan, Tejasvi Surya stated, 'The world must unite in calling out state-sponsored terrorism and uphold peace. India, through decisive actions like Operation Sindoor, is at the forefront of this global effort.' This message was delivered by the Indian All-Party Parliamentary Delegation, part of the Group of 5 led by Shashi Tharoor. The group includes MPs from across party lines--Shambhavi (LJP - Ram Vilas), Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), G.M. Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena - Shinde faction), Tejasvi Surya (BJP)--and Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Together, they represent a united front in India's diplomatic campaign to rally global support against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. This initiative is part of the Government of India's multi-country campaign to take India's strong stance against terrorism to the world and to seek broader support for its efforts to combat Pakistan-sponsored terror on the global stage. (ANI)
India.com
25-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
United Against Terror: Shashi Tharoor Calls for Global Action Amidst Pahalgam Attack
New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday (local time) highlighted how India responded in a measured and calibrated manner towards terror bases and headquarters in Pakistan, following the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. He gave a call for the world to come together to fight unitedly against terrorism. Delivering the remarks at the Indian Consulate, Tharoor noted the visit by the members of the all-party delegation to the 9/11 Memorial was their first stop. He said, "It was obviously a very moving moment for us, but it was also meant to send a very strong message that we are here in a city which is bearing still the scars of that savage terrorist attack in the wake of yet another terrorist attack in our own country." Tharoor said, "We came both as a reminder that this is a shared problem, but also out of a spirit of solidarity with the victims... It's a global problem, it's a scourge and we must all fight it unitedly." Speaking about the aim of the visit of the all-party delegation, Tharoor said, "Our idea is very much to speak to a cross section of public and political opinion in each of the countries we're going to about recent events which obviously trouble a number of people around the world. The fundamental underlying problem remains and it's important that we try and enlarge your understanding of our thinking and our concern about what's going on." "So it's for us an opportunity we will be in every country, meeting members of the executive, meeting members of the legislature, meeting big tankers and influential foreign policy experts, and at the same time interacting with the media and public opinion in every one of these places." Describing the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack, Tharoor said, "It was a bunch of people going around identifying the religions of the people before them and killing them on that basis, which was clearly intended to provoke a backlash in the rest of India, since the victims were overwhelmingly Hindu." He gave various examples from the Indian society of how, in Jammu and Kashmir from politicians to civilians, people came together in solidarity. "There was an extraordinary amount of togetherness cutting across religious and other divides that people have tried to provoke. The message is very clear that there was a malign intent... India, sadly, had no reason to doubt where it came from." Describing further details, Tharoor mentioned, "Within one hour of the atrocity, a group called the Resistance Front had claimed credit. The Resistance Front was known for some years to be a frontal organization of the proscribed Lashkar e Taiba, which is on the US, designated terrorist, as well, as well as the UN sanctions committees. And India had gone to the UN sanctions committee with information about the Resistance Front in 2023 and in 2024 and now sadly, it had acted in 2025 they repeated their claim the next day." "Sadly Pakistan chose to follow its usual path of denial, in fact, Pakistan with the help of China succeeded in removing the reference to TRF from the press statement drafted in the Security Council of the UN two days later". Speaking about India's response in wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, Tharoor said, "I don't work for the government, as you know. I work for an opposition party, but I myself authored an op-ed in one of India's leading papers, within a couple of days saying that the time had come to hit hard and hit smart and I'm pleased to say that's exactly what India did." He outlined how precise and calibrated strikes took place on "9 specific known terrorist bases, headquarters and launchpads. Those included those of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke, Jaish-e-Mohammad in Bahawalpur, responsible amongst other things for the murder of Daniel Pearl..." Tharoor underscored that "India sent a clear message that it was not going to take terror lying down, it would answer, but equally that by delivering veryprecisely, calculated, calibrated strikes on very specific targets, it wa salso sending a message that this was not meant to be the opening salvo in a protracted war but just an act of retribution, that we were prepared to stop with that act". The all-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor comprises of Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayagi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar K Lata (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena) and Former Indian Ambassador to the US,Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The delegation will project India's national consensus and firm stance on combating terrorism in all its forms. They will carry India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the global community during their outreach.
India.com
17-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Masterstroke by Modi govt as India opens new front against Pakistan, New Delhi planning to...
(File) There was a time when the Taliban was completely unreachable for India. When the group returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, India quickly shut down its embassy in Kabul. Back then, it seemed like India had lost all access to Afghanistan. But today, things look very different. When Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar recently made a phone call to the Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, it surprised many. It was the first time an Indian foreign minister had ever spoken directly to a Taliban leader. What made it even more significant was that the call came at a time when reports suggested a top Taliban official was quietly visiting India. This wasn't just a routine diplomatic gesture. It was a clear sign that India is thinking in new strategic ways especially when it comes to Pakistan. For years, India kept its distance from the Taliban. But now, with changing global politics and rising tensions with Pakistan, India seems ready to explore new partnerships and also with old adversaries. Why Jaishankar's call was more than just symbolic? Jaishankar's phone call to the Taliban wasn't just a symbolic gesture it marked a clear shift in India's long-standing foreign policy. For years, India avoided any direct contact with the Taliban, seeing them as puppets of Pakistan. This call breaks that silence. It signals the beginning of direct relations with the Taliban and shows that India is willing to adapt to the new power structure in Afghanistan. This move tells us three important things: India's first public signal of possible recognition of the Taliban: By talking directly to the Taliban's foreign minister, India is openly showing it's ready to engage with the Taliban regime, something that would have been unthinkable earlier. India may now be open to using Afghanistan as a front against Pakistan: With Taliban-Pakistan ties worsening, India sees a chance to push back against Pakistan by building influence in Afghanistan. India's strategic return to Afghanistan: After the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban's return to power, China has been active in Afghanistan. Now, with this outreach, India is stepping back into the game possibly to balance China's presence and safeguard its own interests. The Secret visit that says a lot There are reports, though not officially confirmed, that Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, a top Taliban security leader and deputy minister of interior affairs, secretly visited Delhi in early May, just days after the Pahalgam terror attack. He is known to have strong ties with Iran and little affection for Pakistan. According to The Sunday Guardian, he is close to the Taliban's supreme leader and has major influence over their security apparatus. His possible visit to India sends a strong message especially as tensions between India and Pakistan grow. If this visit did happen, it could mean India is using backdoor diplomacy with the Taliban to send a warning to Islamabad. A wake-up call for Pakistan Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan are not what they used to be. In fact, they're now quite tense. Ibrahim Sadr is known to be anti-Pakistan, and his growing closeness with India would certainly worry Islamabad. For Pakistan, which has long seen Afghanistan as a strategic asset (its idea of 'strategic depth'), this is a serious concern. India's new approach to Afghanistan Earlier, India's involvement in Afghanistan focused on building democracy, promoting women's rights, constructing infrastructure like the Afghan Parliament, roads, and dams. But with the Taliban back in power and the US gone, India had to change its approach. Now, India is choosing realism over idealism. The new strategy is: talk to whoever is in power even if it's the Taliban to ensure that Afghan soil isn't used for anti-India activities and to maintain stability in the region. It's also a move to counter the growing China-Pakistan partnership in the area. Taliban needs India too The Taliban is desperate for international recognition. So far, very few countries officially engage with them. A relationship with India, would be a big step toward legitimacy for the Taliban. Afghanistan is also going through a major economic and humanitarian crisis i.e. hunger, unemployment, and lack of infrastructure are everywhere. China is stepping in with money and projects, but many Afghans feel uneasy about becoming too dependent on Beijing. India, in contrast, has a history of goodwill in Afghanistan. It has built roads, schools, dams, and even the Afghan Parliament. For many Afghans, India is a trusted friend. So if India steps in again, it could be the helping hand Afghanistan really needs.
