NEW DELHI:
The foreign ministry briefing for the all-party delegations that are going to visit 33 nations to explain Operation Sindoor and India’s resolve to end terror, has focussed on the US claims on ceasefire and the changed stance of China. The briefing of the leaders took place in Delhi yesterday and the first of the seven teams will start tomorrow.
Sources said the delegations were told that it was Islamabad which had initiated contact with Delhi on May 10.
The DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) had called around 11 am but the hotline was not working. Then the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi sent a message that the DGMO wanted to talk, sources said
Then contact was made, but conversation could not take place even by 12.30 pm because the Indian DGMO was in a meeting, sources said.
The talks finally took place around 3:30 pm, in which a ceasefire was agreed upon. “The talk of US President Donald Trump’s mediation is not correct because the initiative was taken by Pakistan itself… Back-channel talks keep happening with many countries,” a source said.
The gathering was also told that China’s attitude turned out to be very positive. China has expressed regret instead of condemning India’s action – which comprises a major change in its stance.
As for Pakistan, it “tries to play the victim card on such occasions but India will not let this happen,” a source said. India’s side will be strongly presented and Pakistan will be exposed on the issue of terrorism, he added.
The nations selected for the Indian teams’ visit are permanent or temporary members of the United Nations Security Council — current and future.
The delegations will meet current and former Prime Ministers, foreign ministers, MPs, opposition leaders, intellectuals, journalists and expat Indians in these countries.
The government has taken this huge initiative following Operation Sindoor, and the names of participants – cutting across party lines — were announced late last week.
The delegations are being led by Baijayant Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad of BJP, Sanjay Kumar Jha of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United, Shrikant Shinde of Shiv Sena, Shashi Tharoor, DMK’s Kanimozhi and Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction.
The delegations will visit 32 nations and the European Union’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
