Delegations to UNSC nations to counter Pakistan propaganda, says Misri

Foreign Secretary Misri briefs MPs on India's global outreach post-Pahalgam attack; Rafale cited as symbol of India-France ties in meet with French lawmakers

At Tuesday’s briefing of three of the seven multi-party delegations that are part of India’s outreach for global support in the wake of Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told the delegates the rationale for the effort, especially to effectively counter Pakistan’s anti-India propaganda at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Pakistan is currently one of the 10 non-permanent members of the UNSC, and its term lasts until the end of 2026.

 

The seven multi-party delegations will visit 32 countries and the European Union (EU) from Wednesday onwards. The delegations will visit four (France, the US, the UK and Russia) of the five permanent members of the UNSC, barring China, which is Pakistan’s “all-weather friend”, but also rest of the current non-permanent members — Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.

 

 

Of these, the term of five countries — Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia — expires by the end of this year. Latvia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bahrain, Liberia and Colombia will replace these five and remain UNSC non-permanent members at least until the expiry of Pakistan’s term on December 31, 2026. The delegations are visiting all these countries.

 

After Misri’s briefing, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha MP Aparajita Sarangi said the foreign secretary explained the importance of India’s global outreach, and that the delegations are expected to meet there government functionaries, including ministers and legislators, think tanks, civil society members and media.

 

“At the UNSC, for the next 19 months of its membership, Pakistan would try to put forth its anti-India propaganda. We need to tell these non-permanent UNSC members how Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership has sponsored terrorism, and India stands united on the issue of terrorism,” said Sarangi, who is a member of the delegation that will visit Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore. Sarangi said India has “zero tolerance” to terrorism, and that during Operation Sindoor, it did not attack the people of Pakistan, and only hammered Pakistan’s airbases in response to its attack on India’s military sites.

 

The 51 delegates, comprising MPs, former Union ministers and former diplomats, were also explained India’s position on suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) that it has been only put in abeyance until Pakistan stops its support to terrorism, and not scrapped. Misri told the MPs that India is committed to peace, but it will not tolerate any terror attacks on its soil and will hit back as part of its “new normal”. 

 

The MPs, who will be given dossiers on Pakistan’s hand in terror attacks in India, were briefed about how Pakistan's offer of an independent probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack is hollow, given its earlier behaviour of ignoring evidence and doing little when India presented it with facts following other terror attacks, including 26/11 in Mumbai in 2008 and in Pathankot in 2016, sources said. An MP quoted Misri as saying that trusting Pakistan is like trusting a “chor” (thief) to investigate the crime he has committed.

 

At the briefing, Misri explained that apart from current and future UNSC members, other countries being visited by the delegations include members of the G7, such as Germany, Japan, Italy and the EU, but also Spain, which is an important country in Europe. Brics and G20 members like South Africa and Brazil are also on the list, as is Ethiopia, where the African Union is headquartered. Teams will head to key Muslim majority countries that are also members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation— Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Indonesia and Malaysia.

 

CPI (M) MP John Brittas said the foreign secretary briefed the MPs how India represents diversity, a rule of law and wants peace, progress and development, and does not want to be re-hyphenated with Pakistan, which is a theocratic state and sponsor terrorism. Former Union minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid said it was important for the world to understand that the decision to cease military actions was arrived at mutually. Members of the delegations headed by Janata Dal (U)'s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde and DMK’s Kanimozhi attended the briefing in which they were told about their agenda and its finer details. Kanimozhi could not attend the meeting. 

 

TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, who was included at the last minute after his party protested the government's "unilateral" decision to pick its MP Yusuf Pathan, also joined the briefing. 

 

"We will talk about terror incidents. We do not want war but we cannot tolerate harm to our citizens. We will attack terror sites if targeted," Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Ashok Mittal said.

 

Rafale a symbol of strong India-France ties: Prasad

 

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha Member of Parliament and former Union minister, told a visiting French Senate delegation on Tuesday that the Rafale fighter jets supplied by France’s Dassault Aviation to India were a symbol of the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. 

 

Prasad is leading a multi-party delegation to France and several other Western European nations. Introducing Prasad at the meeting — since he is helming the upcoming multi-party visit to France — Congress leader Shashi Tharoor brought him to the attention of the French side. The French delegation, composed of members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces of the French Senate, was led by Vice Chair Catherine Dumas. 

 

The group met with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, which is chaired by Tharoor. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Tharoor said the French Senate delegation’s visit had been planned before the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.