India Expresses Dissatisfaction over UK’s Claim of Mediating between India and Pakistan

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, June 7: India on Saturday communicated its dissatisfaction over the United Kingdom government’s claim that it along with the United States was working with India and Pakistan to ensure an “enduring ceasefire” and also told its foreign secretary David Lammy that India expected its partners to understand the policy of “zero tolerance” on terrorism.

The External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told Mr Lammy that no country should try to equate “perpetrators of evil” with their victims. The stern statement from the External Affairs Minister came at the beginning of talks during Mr Lammy’s one day visit to Delhi on Saturday.

His visit to Delhi comes a few weeks after he visited Pakistan where he said the US and UK were working with India and Pakistan to ensure “an enduring ceasefire” and Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) between the two countries. The comments made in Islamabad on May 17 had ruffled feathers in New Delhi as it has repeatedly denied any third country’s role in the India-Pakistan 4-day conflict after the Pahalgam terror attacks.

Official sources said “India will be working closely with its friends” in the UNSC to keep a watch on Pakistan’s activities on the council, given that Pakistan will also assume the Presidency of the UNSC in July. The sources said Pakistan had requested Chairpersonship of four committee dealing with terrorism, and had only been nominated to the top of two and Co-chair of some informal working groups (IWG) due to a move by the Council to “reign in Pakistan.”

They added that at least 50 of 343 individuals and entities that have been designated by the UNSC as terrorists are linked to or reside in Pakistan, and many globally wanted terrorists including Osama Bin Laden had lived and trained there.

The MEA did not respond to requests for a comment on whether the issue of Pakistan’s role in the UNSC terror committees had been discussed between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Lammy. Mr Lammy met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning, the second time he was accorded the meeting after his last visit in July 2024.

He is also meeting Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to take forward discussions on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, that was finalised last month, and discussions over signing could be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK PM Keith Starmer when they meet at the G-7 summit side-lines in Canada in mid-June, where India is a special invitee.

In his opening remarks, Mr Jaishankar also referred to the India-UK FTA, as a “milestone” in ties, and the potential of other bilateral agreements including the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) for AI, and the Strategic Exports and Technology Cooperation Dialogue to “propel” ties forward.

“Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our ambitions – we’re building a modern partnership with India for a new global era,” Mr Lammy said in a statement ahead of his visit to India, pointing to cooperation in growth, technology, tackling the climate crisis, delivering “migration priorities” and on security issues.

Meanwhile, Dr Jaishankar met two all-party delegations sent abroad to expose Pakistan’s terror designs that have returned from the multi-country visits—one led by NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule and the other by NDA alliance partner Shiv Sena’s parliamentary party leader Shrikant Shinde—the youngest amongst all the delegate leaders.

The Sule-led delegation visited countries like South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt, while those on Shinde’s list were UAE, followed by countries like Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Sources said Jaishankar was told that many countries that they went to want India to sit across the table and have a dialogue with Pakistan. Some countries have even asked why India did not take a stand on the escalation between several other countries. It is learnt that the members explained to these countries that it was not possible to speak to Pakistan because it cannot be trusted due to its policy to support terror.

The delegations expressed how they were made to feel welcome, and people in these countries were willing to listen to India’s side of the story. It is also learnt that the delegation told the minister that there is more need for better communication with these countries so that India can present its view. It would not be fair to judge them assuming that they would be supporting Pakistan by virtue of being a Muslim nation.

Through these visits, the countries also said India should seek deeper engagement with them, not just in trade and commerce, but on other softer issues like culture, tourism etc. The delegation also gave feedback to the government that it was important to have better dialogue and engage with Western media to be able to explain India’s narrative better.

The Shinde team, on the other hand, had a much better engagement. A moment of silence in the memory of those who lost their lives in the Pahalgam attack was observed in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In fact, in Liberia, it was done in Parliament and Shinde was asked to speak at the podium.

Dr Jaishankar expressed satisfaction with the interaction of the teams to these countries, which have often been dismissed as insignificant, but will have a role to play in the future. “These countries are not very prominent for many looking at it from a world view, but the kind of narrative that you have been able to bring back home. It is a great service to the country,” the minister is said to have told the delegation.

The delegation led by Shinde also expressed sentiments of the people of these countries who wanted better trade relations with India. The potential for investment and better trade could certainly be explored with deeper engagement, they said. Jaishankar was also told that Liberia, for example, has been looking out for a space to have its consulate in India. India is a great importer of rubber and rubber-related goods for which markets in these African countries can also be explored. These African countries can also be a great investment sector for mining, the delegation expressed.

The delegation also added that there was a huge appreciation for India’s role in UN peacekeeping and the kind of support India gave to these countries during Covid-19 by providing vaccines and other essential medicines, which is deeply appreciated.

So far, five delegation members out of seven have met Jaishankar and shared the detailed feedback that they have been able to gather in their multi-party visits across many countries. The remaining two delegations from Ravi Shankar Prasad’s team and Shashi Tharoor’s team are likely to meet the minister sometime next week. Some members have also submitted a detailed written report and note for the government of India to consider.

A total of seven delegations, comprising 55 members—including MPs, former diplomats, and former Union ministers—were dispatched to 38 countries to explain India’s stand on terrorism. These delegations were led by prominent leaders such as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule, BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, DMK’s Kanimozhi, and JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha.