TOI correspondent from London: After the Pahalgam terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan, “except Türkiye, the entire whole called to convey their solidarity, including China”, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad told a press briefing in London on Tuesday.
Prasad is leading the Operation Sindoor parliamentary delegation to Europe to communicate India’s concerns about terrorist infrastructure and activity emanating from Pakistan.
“The nuclear bluff of Pakistan has been called out; as far as India's nuclear strategy is concerned, we are very clear: no first use. We are a responsible, democratic country and a responsible nuclear power and we have conveyed that to everyone, but if Pakistan undertook an adventure of nuclear size, we are capable of responding,” said Prasad.
In London the delegation met ministers, political party leaders, parliamentarians and think tanks. “We acquainted them with the entire terror infrastructure of Pakistan, where the distinction between the military leadershipand terror network is no more in existence and the terrorists do the bidding of the army, and the audience was very appreciative.Pakistan should be made to pay costs. It has taken a loan 25 times from the IMF. There needs to be accountability on where the money is going. India as a sovereign country has the right to save its citizens from terrorism,” he said, ahead of the delegation heading to Brussels.
He said 75 years after Independence, India was now the fourth-biggest economy in the world and India’s digital services “were something the world was talking about”. In Pakistan, meanwhile, “unelected generals controlled power”.
“Terrorism is a tool of state policy in Pakistan,” he said, adding “we are not against the people of Pakistan. They are fed up with the generals.”
PM Narendra Modi went to the wedding of former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter’s and in response “got Pulwama, Uri, Pahalgam,” he said.
“Osama bin Laden was ultimately captured in Pakistan. A journalist’s throat was slit and the one who killed him has been killed by India’s precise strike on terror camps.”
He said Op Sindoor was only “paused” — not stopped — “subject to the good behaviour of Pakistan.” “We believe in peace. We don’t permit a situation where innocent Indians are killed with impunity by terrorists. This is not acceptable.”
A BBC journalist asked what evidence India had that the Pahalgam attack was directly linked to Pakistan or its govt.
He responded that a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group LeT, The Resistance Front, had claimed responsibility for Pahalgam. He pointed out that Pakistan army generals and police officers were present at the funeral of a terrorist killed in Op Sindoor and a wreath was sent by the Pakistan Chief of Army Staff. “This is not the first terrorist attack emanating from Pakistan on India. You cannot ignore this disturbing record of terrorism in Pakistan. People involved with the Mumbai terror attacks are in safe houses in Lahore, 52 terrorists have been designatedby the UN in Pakistan. Terror camps are there within Pakistan yet there are none in India and none in the UK,” he said.
On Chinasupplying weapons to Pakistan, he said: “India also has a relationship with China. We have a dialogue with them (China), but where you give Pakistan weapons and they are being used for terrorism, for killing people, not in a conventional war, these are important issues and I'm quite sure China will understand ultimately, all the investment and projects in Pakistan are also getting disturbed because of this extremism, radicalisation and terrorism.”