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DMK MP Kanimozhi – who led a cross-party delegation to Europe to discuss the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor – said the message was that India cannot negotiate with Pakistan as long as it continues to support terrorism.
New Delhi:
Pakistan sponsors terrorism and India cannot negotiate with such a country, DMK MP Kanimozhi told NDTV Tuesday evening, after she returned from leading a cross-party delegation to Russia, Spain, Slovenia, Greece, and Latvia as part of the federal government’s global outreach initiative to brief friendly nations on Operation Sindoor and the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Asked about the message her delegation took to Moscow, Madrid, Ljubljana, Athens, and Riga, the Tamil Nadu leader said the biggest message was that the Indian government had sent opposition leaders to speak on its behalf to some of the most powerful nations in the world.
She also said political leaders and think tanks across Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Greece, and Latvia were briefed about Pakistan’s continuing support of cross-border terrorist activities, something Islamabad denies despite a growing mountain of evidence to the contrary.
“I think the most important message we took was that it was an all-party delegation… led by opposition MPs. In fact, except for one person all of us were from opposition parties.”
“I think that in itself was a message… that India stands together when it comes to dealing with terrorism and with what happened in Pahalgam,” she said, referring to the horrific attack on April 22 by The Resistance Front, a proxy of banned Pak-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Four terrorists shot dead 26 people, mostly civilians, at a picturesque tourist hotspot in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam Valley, triggering widespread condemnation in India and abroad.
India responded first with diplomatic measures, including suspending key Indus Waters Treaty that provides irrigation for nearly 80 per cent of all of Pak’s farms, and then launched Operation Sindoor – precision military strikes against terror camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir.
Pak, which had scoffed at India pointing out, again, that the terrorists had been supported by the deep state in that country, responded with strikes of its own – which were mostly neutralised by India – triggering a 100-hour military conflict that ended with a ceasefire on May 12.
Kanimozhi told NDTV the nations her delegation had visited had said they stood with India over the Pahalgam attack, particularly after it was explained that India has tried to reason with Pakistan and attempted to find a peaceful solution to this long-standing problem.
“Everybody condemned what happened in Pahalgam… we explained that this is not the first time and that time and again it (Pak-sponsored terror attacks) have been happening…”
“We explained that we have been able to trace these attacks back to Pakistan and that these terrorists continue to be sponsored and protected in that country,” Kanimozhi said.
In each nation and meeting the delegation stressed, the DMK leader said, that “we have tried, many times, to reach out to Pakistan to resolve conflicts we have with them but they have never stopped sponsoring terrorist attacks against us, which has cost us many lives,”
“People understand that we can’t negotiate with a state sponsoring terrorism.”
But now, back in India, Kanimozhi returns to the traditional business of holding the government to account. On the matter of the opposition’s demand for a special session of Parliament – to discuss the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor, and associated national security concerns, she told NDTV there are “clarifications” and “explanations” that will be sought of the ruling party.
Her comments on this come after eyebrow-raising comments by Chief Of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan last week and this over losses suffered by the Indian military during Op Sindoor.
At an event in Singapore last week General Chauhan confirmed, for the first time, that India had suffered losses, specifically fighter jets. This was after weeks of speculation that Pak air defences had shot down at least six Indian military aircraft, including at least one Rafale.
India had first firmly denied any such claim. However, last week the General indicated otherwise, saying the focus should be on India hitting its targets rather than losses suffered.
READ | “Professional Militaries Not Affected By Losses”: Chief Of Defence Staff
He made similar comments today, telling a Pune university that “professional militaries are not affected by temporary losses as overall outcomes are more important than such setback”.
Kanimozhi told NDTV none of the nations she visited had actually asked about this particular issue, but indicated a responsible opposition would ask these questions of the government.
