 "Which countries will India’s anti-terror delegation head to? And why?")
India’s major diplomatic outreach post Operation Sindoor has begun. Two of the seven all-party delegations, comprising MPs and former diplomats, are setting out abroad today (May 21) to convey India’s anti-terrorism stance in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre.
The delegation led by Sanjay Kumar Jha of Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) has taken off for Japan – their first destination. The group, also consisting of CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi, Pradan Baruah and Hemang Joshi, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, and Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee , will also travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore.
Another delegation led by Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Eknath Shinde will depart for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today. The seven delegations will cover different regions, including North America, South America, North Africa, Central America, West Africa, Southeast Asia, East Asia, West Asia, and Europe.
But why did the Centre choose these places to put forth India’s message of standing united against terrorism emanating from Pakistan? We will explain.
Why the places were chosen
The all-party delegations will travel to 33 places, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and Germany, to rally support for New Delhi and increase global pressure on Islamabad following Operation Sindoor.
These seven groups will interact with permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), countries that are traditional partners of India, and those that have the presence of the United Nations, as per ThePrint report.
The UNSC is responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
The delegations will present India’s stance to 12 of the 15 UNSC member states. They will not visit Pakistan and Somalia, two non-permanent UNSC members, and China, a permanent member.
The delegations will also visit the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU).
Importance of the places
The diplomatic group led by JD(U)’s Sanjay Kumar Jha is visiting Japan, a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) that includes India. The trip will also include South Korea, a non-permanent member of the UNSC.
The delegation will also stop in Indonesia, a country with which India’s ties have witnessed a boost in recent years.
On way to Tokyo..Now.
— Aparajita Sarangi, MP,( Lok Sabha) Bhubaneswar (@AprajitaSarangi) May 21, 2025
At the Delhi Airport with esteemed Members of the Parliamentary Delegation going to the East and South East Asian Nations.@AmbMoKumar @JohnBrittas @PradanBaruah @SanjayJhaBihar @BrijLal_IPS @drhemangjoshimp pic.twitter.com/NQVhCAx3cL
Malaysia is the chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). It will also host the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur later this year.
The Shrikant Shinde-led group’s first stop is the UAE, with which India has deepened ties in recent years. It will also travel to West Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Sierra Leone is a non-permanent member of the UNSC. In 2020, India opened its resident mission in the West African country’s capital, Freetown.
In 2021, India opened its resident mission in the capital of Liberia, Monrovia. It also previously participated in the United Nations Mission in Liberia, ThePrint report noted.
Thousands of Indian troops are part of the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) in the DRC.
BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad will head a delegation to Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Denmark, and Brussels, which houses the European Union’s headquarters.
Denmark is a non-permanent UNSC member.
One mission. One message. One Bharat 🇮🇳
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 17, 2025
Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism.
Here’s the list of MPs & delegations representing this united front. https://t.co/1igT7D21mZ pic.twitter.com/3eaZS21PbC
The group led by Baijayant Panda of the BJP will visit Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait and Bahrain.
PM Modi was on a trip to Saudi Arabia when the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir happened. Kuwait and Bahrain are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Muslim-majority nations.
Algeria is a non-permanent UNSC member.
The group led by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will interact with political leaders, intellectuals, journalists, and expat Indians in the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia.
While the US is a permanent UNSC member, Panama and Guyana are non-permanent members. Guyana is also home to a significant Indian community. India has a close relationship with Brazil.
The delegation led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi will cover Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Russia and Latvia.
While Greece and Slovenia are non-permanent UNSC members, Russia is a permanent member.
In Latvia, India recently opened its mission in Riga, the European country’s capital.
Supriya Sule of Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) will lead a delegation to Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Qatar is a member of the GCC, while Ethiopia hosts the headquarters of the African Union. South Africa is a partner of India in BRICS, which also includes Russia, Brazil, and China.
The message these delegations will deliver
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday (May 20) briefed three delegations – led by JD(U)’s Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde and DMK’s Kanimozhi.
As per the Indian Express report, they were told that their itinerary will include back-to-back meetings with ministers, MPs and other lawmakers, think tanks, academics, journalists, civil society and others.
Jha told the newspaper that the primary message to be conveyed abroad is that “India has had enough”.
“Essentially, in the backdrop of the Pahalgam attacks, we are expected to convey to the countries that enough evidence has been given to Pakistan about terror attacks in India that emanated from their soil, but it has done nothing. We have given them DNA samples, call intercepts and so much material evidence. The entire international community knows how much evidence was shared with Pakistan following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Did Pakistan take any action against (attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief) Hafiz Saeed?” Jha said.
The members of the delegation have told the media that they have been told the expose Pakistan’s “lies” to the world.
Speaking to ThePrint, former BJP MP SS Ahluwalia, a member of the delegation led by Shiv Sena’s Shinde, said: “Pakistan is spreading lies across the world. It is our responsibility to explain to other nations through meetings with legislators, business persons, intellectuals as to what really happened in Pahalgam and the events that followed. India has always had the stand that this fight is not against common citizens. Terrorists came, executed their terrorist activities and our fight is against them.”
The delegations have also been asked to explain India’s stand on the Indus Waters Treaty to foreign countries. New Delhi put the decades-old water-sharing agreement with Islamabad in ‘abeyance’ after the Pahalgam terror attack.
“The foreign secretary clarified that the Indus decision was not a knee-jerk reaction and that India had already been working on the treaty. A lot has changed since the 1960s. The amount of water in the river system has decreased. Also, the Indus Waters Treaty was part of a goodwill gesture, but in the face of terrorism, when that goodwill itself does not exist, then how can the treaty be sustained,” a delegation member was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Misri is believed to have told the MPs that India has evidence that Pakistan “continues to harbour, train, fund, provide technical support and deploy UN-designated terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and their proxy groups to launch attacks in India”, as per ThePrint.
The foreign secretary also explained the importance of picking these specific countries for India’s global outreach programme.
“Our government had rightly decided that MPs of different parties should visit these different countries together and present our narrative to the bureaucracy and political representatives there and present our stand, and condemn Pakistan’s approach of promoting terrorism. This is our responsibility,” BJP MP Sarangi told reporters yesterday.
With inputs from agencies
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