New Delhi: The Union government on Saturday, May 17, released the final list of seven all-party delegations that will travel around the world to present India’s strong diplomatic counteroffensive and brief them about Operation Sindoor.
The seven delegations that will go to different countries assigned to them will be led by BJP’s Baijayant Jay Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad, JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, DMK’s Kanimozhi, and NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule.
“One mission. One message. One Bharat. Seven all-party delegations will soon engage key nations under Operation Sindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism,” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X.
Each of the delegation comprises seven or eight political leaders and is assisted by former diplomats. Of the 51 political leaders, 31 are part of the ruling NDA, while the remaining 20 are from the non-NDA parties.
Owaisi to travel to Middle East
AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi will be a part of the seven-member team of BJP MP Baijanta Panda. The team will travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria to put forward India’s stand on terrorism.
He lashed out at Pakistan, saying the country is a threat to humanity by arming, training and financing terrorists. “India has been a big victim of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. We all have seen the tamasha, slaughtering of people since the time of Zia-ul-Haq. They will continue to do it tomorrow and are not going to stop. However, India’s patience ran out with the Pahalgam terror attack,” he said.
The firebrand parliamentarian said it is necessary to call out Pakistan over its projection of itself as an Islamic country in its confrontation with India. “This is nonsense. Nearly 20 crore Muslims live in India. This too must be conveyed.”
Asserting that destabilising India, fomenting communal divide and stalling the country’s economic rise is part of Pakistan’s unwritten ideology, Owaisi said this has always been the objective of the Pakistani deep state and its military.
Delegations to make visits later this month
According to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, these All-Party Delegations will be visiting important partner nations, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month.
“In the context of ‘Operation Sindoor’ and India’s continued fight against cross-border terrorism, seven All-Party Delegations are set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council later this month,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The All-Party Delegations will project India’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country’s strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism,” it added.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, posting on X, wrote, “In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences.”
The countries where the delegations will be dispatched include the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Egypt, the United States, and Japan.
The delegations aim to communicate India’s unified political stance against terrorism and seek international support to hold Pakistan accountable.
Other MPs expected to participate include BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and Tejasvi Surya, TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Congress MP Manish Tewari, and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.
To counter Pakistan’s attempts
Sources indicate that the decision to send these cross-party delegations is a response to Pakistan’s increased attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, as well as to recent comments by US President Donald Trump.
New Delhi continues to maintain that Kashmir remains a bilateral matter.
This marks the first time that the Modi government has mobilised elected representatives from multiple political parties as diplomatic emissaries to challenge Pakistan’s narrative on the global stage.
The focus of the delegations will be two-fold: To brief foreign governments about the Pahalgam terror attack and to clarify that ‘Operation Sindoor’ targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied territories, without endangering civilian lives.
I see no politics in it: Tharoor
Meanwhile, Tharoor stood by his decision to accept the Centre’s invite, saying “I see no politics in it”. At the same time, he denied any knowledge about any names being suggested by the Congress for the delegation, saying that it was between the party and the central government.
Tharoor, speaking to reporters here, said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju recently officially invited him to lead the delegation in view of his past experience in handling foreign affairs and “I immediately agreed”.
“According to me, politics becomes important when we have a nation. We are all Indians. When the nation is in crisis and the central government seeks the help of a citizen, what other answer would you give,” the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
He further said that everyone saw the 88-hour-long battle with Pakistan and therefore, “we all need to have a role in what the world is saying about us”.
“It is in that spirit I agreed to it,” Tharoor added.
On being asked by reporters whether the Congress was unhappy with his decision and why it released the names of the people it had suggested for the delegation, Tharoor said the media should pose these queries to the grand old party.
“You will have to ask them (Congress),” he said when asked whether the party has any reservations about him leading the delegation.
He also said that when he initially received a call from Rijiju inviting him to lead the delegation, he had informed the party about it.
On reporters’ queries whether the party was trying to insult him by releasing the names suggested by it for the delegation, Tharoor said that he cannot be insulted so easily. “I know my worth. National service is the duty of every citizen,” he asserted.
Good opportunity for India: Omar
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said that the decision is a good opportunity to present India’s viewpoint following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
He said that after the attack on Parliament in 2001 during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, delegations were sent to some countries in a similar way.
Asked about the decrease in tourism in the Kashmir valley following the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Abdullah said the government’s focus now is on conducting an incident-free annual Amarnath Yatra which begins July 3.
“Tourism has been hit quite badly. This summer season of ours is more or less now (washed), we hardly have any tourists coming. Now, we are focused on the Amaranth yatra,” he told reporters.
“We want the Amarnath yatra to pass incident-free and want all the yatris to go back safe and sound and then we will start looking out at what we can do to promote tourism,” he said.
On the present situation along the border and the Line of Control (LoC), Abdullah said that as of now, there are no reports of violation of the understanding reached between India and Pakistan.
“Assessment of the damage is being done. Once the damage assessment report comes, we will work on the compensation package. Whatever we can do, we will do and whatever help we need from the Centre, we will ask the Centre,” he added.
(The copy had earlier mentioned AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi would lead the delegation. However, the information was found to be incorrect. The error is regretted.)
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