Modi Meets All-Party Delegations, Prasad Says Pakistan in the “Grip of Military-Terrorist Nexus”
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 10: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening hosted members of all-party delegations who travelled to various countries to highlight India’s stand against Pakistan-linked terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and the consequent “Operation Sindoor.”
During the meeting delegation members talked about their meetings in different nations. The delegations, consisting of MPs from across party lines, former MPs and distinguished diplomats, had highlighted India’s stand against terror and India’s commitment to world peace during their visits to various nations.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has already met some of the delegations and lauded their efforts in conveying India’s strong stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Four delegations were led by MPs of the ruling alliance, including two from the BJP, one from JD(U) and one from Shiv Sena, while three were led by opposition MPs, one each of the Congress, DMK and NCP(SP).
BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijyant Panda, Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, JD(U)‘s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, DMK’s Kanimozhi, and NCP (SP)‘s Supriya Sule led their delegations to different parts of the world. The government had sent the multi-party delegations to portray a message of national unity in the fight against terrorism, with the likes of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi joining the ruling alliance members in championing the Indian cause abroad. Prominent former parliamentarians in the delegations included ex-Union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Salman Khurshid.
The former minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who led one of the delegations, said Pakistan was in the grip of a military-terrorist nexus, with generals of the Pakistan armed forces using terrorism as a proxy to maintain their relevance, with Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir speaking the language of fascism.
Mr Prasad whose delegation visited Italy, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark giving a historical context to India’s actions concerning Operation Sindoor, said “Pakistan is not only a state in denial, but the military-terrorist nexus has become a deadly combination.”
“When we talked about history, we talked about how Pakistan is in the hands of Generals… The world needs to understand that Pakistan is in the grip of a military-general nexus whose dirty job is done by the terrorists and terrorist camps,” he added.
He said the delegation also spoke about a speech by now Field Marshal Asim Munir ahead of the Pahalgam terror attack, which mentioned how Hindus and Muslims were “different” and that the creation of Pakistan was on the basis of that difference, and that future generations of that country must be told of it. He added that these were the words of a “jihadi general” and that “Asim Munir was speaking the language of fascism.” which should ring alarm bells in European capitals.
He emphasised that India has never been the aggressor in any conflict. “We have fought conventional wars (with Pakistan), but we were never the aggressors. We made it clear that we are not against the people of Pakistan,” he said.
Mr Prasad stated that all Indian governments have made genuine attempts to foster good relations with Pakistan. “Prime Minister Modi called Nawaz Sharif (former Pakistan Prime Minister) for his swearing-in ceremony, went to his grandson’s wedding too and then Uri (attack) happened and we gave a befitting reply; then, similarly with Pulwama, and now this (Pahalgam),” he said.
The delegation led by Mr Prasad also included BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari, Gulam Ali Khatana, and Samik Bhattacharya, former BJP MP M.J. Akbar, Congress MP Amar Singh, Shiv Sena (UBT)‘s Priyanka Chaturvedi, AIADMK MP M. Thambidurai and former diplomat Pankaj Saran.
