India now has new approach to combat cross-border terrorism: All-party delegations to world leaders
India now has a new approach to combat cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, and anyone involved in such crimes will not go unpunished, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said in New York.
Tharoor made the remarks at a community event as an all-party parliamentary delegation led by him made a stopover in the American city before leaving for Guyana.
In Bahrain, another Indian parliamentary delegation on Sunday briefed the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa on the challenge of cross-border terrorism facing India and New Delhi’s firm resolve to combat it.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar lauded the efforts put in by the all-party delegations and said, “India stands together in declaring zero tolerance for terrorism.”
“The collective voice sending a strong message of combating terrorism,” he said in an X post.
Separate Indian delegations briefed political leaders in South Korea and Slovenia on India’s policy of zero tolerance in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
In an interaction with prominent Indian-American leaders on Saturday, Tharoor said that India’s message to Pakistan has been clear: “We didn’t want to start anything. We were just sending a message to terrorists.” “This has now got to be a new norm. No one sitting in Pakistan is going to be allowed to believe that they can just walk across the border and kill our citizens with impunity. There will be a price to pay, and that price has been going up systematically,” Tharoor said.
Pakistan covets India’s territory and wants to have it at any price, he said, adding: “And if they can’t get it through conventional means, they’re willing to get it through terrorism. That is not acceptable, and that’s really the message that we are here to give all of you in this country and elsewhere”.
Tharoor and other members of the delegation also visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York “in a spirit of solidarity” but which was also meant “to send a very strong message that we are here in a city, which is still bearing the scars of that savage terrorist attack, in the wake of yet another terrorist attack in our own country,” he said, a reference to the Pahalgam attack.
In Guyana, the delegation received a warm welcome. Its visit underscores India’s “unequivocal message of zero tolerance for terrorism”, the Indian embassy here said on X.
“India is resolute and stands united in our fight against terrorism,” it added.
Tharoor said in an X post, “It is Guyana’s 59th Independence Day tomorrow, and we will be present at the midnight speech by the President tonight.”
In Bahrain’s capital Manama, the delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda met with the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa; Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, the chairman of Shura Bahrain, the upper house of the legislative body of Bahrain, and Abdulnabi Salman Ahmed, First Deputy Speaker, Council of Representatives.
The Indian delegation “underscored India’s resolve to fight against terrorism and strengthen bilateral ties,” the Indian embassy in Bahrain said in an X post.
The delegation also held an interactive session at the prominent King Hamad Global Centre for Coexistence and Tolerance, emphasising India’s values ??of tolerance and harmony.
“India’s fight against terrorism is relentless, firm, and unwavering,” the Indian embassy here said on X.
On their first day in Bahrain on Saturday, Panda underscored the “deep and long-standing relationship” between Bahrain and India.
“I would like to thank the government of Bahrain for the consistent stand that it has taken. We truly appreciate Bahrain’s strong comments during recent developments,” he said during a meeting with prominent Indians.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, also a member of the delegation, said, “Our government has sent us here, and various other delegations comprising all party members across various parts of the world, so that the world knows of the threat that India has been facing.”
“The terrorists have justified killings of innocent people in India. …. In our opinion, there is no difference between terrorists in Pakistan and ISIS takfiri ideology,” Owaisi said.
In South Korea, the all-party parliamentary delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha on Sunday shared with the members of the Indian diaspora the insights on the military campaign Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The delegation reiterated the Modi government’s stand against terrorism and said that dialogue with Pakistan cannot co-exist with terror.
It also met the Indian Ambassador to South Korea Amit Kumar, who highlighted the Korea-specific approach to scheduled engagements, setting the context for a strong messaging of India’s stance of zero tolerance against terrorism, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
The team also held “substantive interactions” with eminent Korean dignitaries, including former Foreign Minister Dr Yoon Young-kwan, Vice-Chairman of Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Kim Gunn and former Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, the Indian embassy in Seoul said in a post on X.
TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, a delegation member, said, “The dialogue spanned issues of peace, regional stability, and strengthening multilateral efforts to confront the threat of terror.”
In Qatar, the multi-party delegation led by NCP MP Supriya Sule on Sunday met Dr Hamda Al Sulaiti, Deputy Speaker of the Qatar Shura Council and other Qatari MPs in Doha taking “India’s strong message against terrorism to the world!”
“Qatar emphasised its own zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and that terrorism must be condemned globally,” the Indian embassy in Qatar posted on X.
The delegation held an interaction with the editorial team of leading newspapers of Qatar, and visited the Middle East Council for Global Affairs, discussing ways to counter cross-border terrorism and sharing India’s zero-tolerance approach to the threat.
Meanwhile, the all-party delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi reached Slovenia for “Taking Bharat’s message to the world.”
All the delegations described the Indian diaspora as a “force multiplier”, urging the members to help sensitise public opinion and political opinion in their respective countries about India’s stance on combating terror.
These delegations are among the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan’s designs and India’s response to terror.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack. India carried out precision strikes as part of Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7.
It was followed by Pakistan’s attempt to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.
The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the Directors-General of military operations of both sides on May 10.
