India Will Speak in One Voice Abroad: During Op Sindoor Outreach Campaign: Tharoor

New Delhi: Soon after foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Friday evening briefed the remaining four all-party delegations that are being sent out across the world to put across India’s point of view post Operation Sindoor and on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading one of the delegations to the United States and other countries, said India will “speak in one voice”. Mr Tharoor said internal politics has its place, but on the global stage we represent the country.

The foreign secretary briefed the MPs and experts on the multi-party delegations regarding the terror which has been exported from Pakistan since the last 45 years, the number of terror attacks that have taken place and the evidence that has been made available to everybody regarding Pakistan’s involvement. Briefing points have been given to all delegations, which they will present in the countries that they will visit.

The briefing that began at about 5.30 pm lasted almost two-and-a-half hours. One of the major points that will be conveyed by the multi-party delegations that will travel to key countries is India is not waging war against any one country but rather against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Apart from the export of terror by Pakistan, the delegations will also put forward the country’s point of view that India carried out selected precision, targeted strikes on terror camps in Pakistan.

The multi-party delegations were also briefed that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) that was inked with Pakistan in 1960 will continue to be in abeyance till Islamabad abjures cross-border terrorism. “Blood and water cannot flow together” is the official position of the government and India is well within its rights to keep it in abeyance.

India had announced that the IWT would be kept in abeyance immediately after the heinous Pahalgam terror attacks last month.

Speaking with the media after the foreign secretary's briefing, Mr Tharoor, who is leading one of the delegations to Guyana, Colombia, Panama, Brazil and the US, said, “Officials are going to meet legislators, think tanks and media and have public interactions. It's a full-court press and we are really going to try and talk to everybody. The whole idea is we would like to sensitise the public, parliamentary and government opinion in each of these countries. We will try to get our message over."

"We are travelling tonight. It's good to have everyone on the same page, and that's what the government's briefing was all about. We are prepared…everyone understands the situation and we are heading in that spirit. We will speak with one voice,” The Congress MP said.

In a veiled jibe at the claims of US President Donald Trump, who had claimed credit for “brokering a ceasefire” between India and Pakistan, Mr Tharoor also made it clear that no formal process of mediation was ever requested or conducted as said by the government. A position which is at variance with the Congress’ official stand. Mr Tharoor, though, made a distinction between domestic politics and international diplomacy and added that on the global stage India will "speak in one voice”.

Interacting with the media, NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule, who will lead the delegation to to Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia and South Africa, said, “We have been properly briefed. We will strongly put across our point. We want peace always, but there is zero tolerance for terrorism. This is clear and this is the policy. We are all going there as Indians.”

Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who is part of the delegation led by BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark, said, "As an Indian, we are unitedly going out to the world to tell the world how Pakistan has developed a terror model where the government trains and finances the terrorists. When terror camps are targeted, their (Pakistan) Army jumps in to retaliate. This criminal nexus of their government, their terrorists and their Army needs to be exposed.”

BJP MP Baijyant Panda, who leads the team that will travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria, said, "We had a very fruitful briefing from the foreign secretary and his team. We covered a wide range of issues. The unity we have seen across the spectrum in India is very vital and there is an understanding and a commitment to take our message to the world."