UAE, Japan reaffirm support to India's fight against terror

ABU DHABI/TOKYO: The UAE and Japan on Thursday expressed solidarity with India in the war against terrorism as multi-party delegations started reaching out to world capitals to sensitise global leaders about terror emanating from Pakistan, a month after the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.

A delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde held talks with the UAE minister of tolerance Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of the defence committee Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi and other prominent leaders in Abu Dhabi, while another group led by JDU MP Sanjay Jha interacted with Japan's foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya and other leaders in Tokyo.

"India and UAE will tackle terrorism together. The UAE will always stand by India," Sheikh Nahyan said.

"Terrorism is a threat not just to a single nation or region, it is a global threat. We believe that we, as an international community, should come together, especially the members of parliament, to work on putting plans and strategies and engage in creating a better future for all humanity," Al Nuaimi told reporters.

"We are already cooperating with India on efforts to fight terrorism. The security of Indian nationals is non-negotiable. India is a strategic partner - not just the govt but also its people," the UAE leader said, underscoring the deep bilateral ties with India.

Shinde described the discussions as "very fruitful," highlighting the UAE's firm stance against terrorism.

A statement issued by the Indian embassy in Japan quoted Iwaya as telling the Indian delegation that terrorism could not be justified in any form and expressed solidarity with India and with the world in the fight against terrorism. He reaffirmed Japan's support for India's fight against terrorism and praised India's restraint post-Pahalgam. He stressed the need to punish perpetrators of terror, aligning with India's stance.

The statement said that Iwaya expressed heartfelt condolences to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and extended his sympathies to those injured.

Sharing an X post of the Indian embassy in Japan on the delegation's meeting with the Japanese leaders, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said, "Great to see #TeamIndia taking our message of zero tolerance for terrorism to the world."

Meanwhile, a third delegation, led by DMK Lok Sabha MP K Kanimozhi, left for Russia and four European countries to convey India's strong resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms.

Besides Shinde, the delegation to the UAE comprised BJP's Manan Kumar Mishra, S S Ahluwalia, Atul Garg, and Bansuri Swaraj, BJD's Sasmit Patra, IUML's E T Mohammed Basheer, former diplomat Sujan R Chinoy, and former ambassador Sunjay Sudhir. The team led by Jha to Japan included BJP's Aparajita Sarangi, Brijlal, Pradhan Barua and Hemang Joshi, Congress's Salman Khurshid, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPM's John Brittas, and former diplomat Mohan Kumar.