Congress MP Anand Sharma, part of the all-party parliamentary delegation led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, stated that the group’s recently concluded four-nation tour garnered widespread international backing for India’s position on terrorism and its long-pending proposal at the United Nations for a global convention against terrorism.
“We are encouraged by the fact that friendly nations have understood India’s position. They condemned the terror attack on India,” Sharma told ANI while in Cairo.
Sharma said that several countries assured support for India’s push at the UN, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive international convention on terrorism, which has been pending for years.
He also lashed out at Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, calling them “copycat moves” and accusing Islamabad of misusing IMF funds to fuel terror networks instead of addressing its domestic issues.
“Pakistan cannot blackmail the world. It must first look within and stop sponsoring terrorism,” he asserted.
While engaging with the Indian diaspora and officials abroad, Sharma also touched upon India’s restrained yet firm military response under Operation Sindoor, following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.
“India does not believe in war or violence, but we gave a befitting reply. Our forces targeted only the terrorist infrastructure,” he said.
On India-Pakistan relations, Sharma said that multiple Indian Prime Ministers—including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Narendra Modi—have tried peace diplomacy, only to be met with betrayal.
“After Vajpayee’s Lahore visit, Kargil happened. After Agra talks, we had the Parliament attack, then Mumbai in 2008. Pakistan has a history of sabotaging peace efforts,” Sharma noted.
Sharma also raised concerns over the erosion of global trade norms, stating that even traditional champions of free trade are undermining the WTO.
“The world still needs a rule-based multilateral trading system. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work, but panic is unnecessary,” he said, commenting on the shifting global trade dynamics.
The all-party delegation, which included members from across the political spectrum, was tasked with presenting India’s stand on terrorism to international partners and countering misinformation, particularly that spread by Pakistan. The delegation visited four countries, including Egypt, and engaged with local leaders, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora.