Indian delegation calls on Bahrain Dy PM, conveys India’s stand against terrorism

An all-party Indian parliamentary delegation on Sunday briefed Bahrain’s Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa about the challenge of cross-border terrorism facing India and New Delhi’s firm resolve to combat it.

The delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, is one of the seven multi-party delegations tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan’s designs and India’s response to terror.

The delegation reached here on Saturday for a two-day visit. During the visit, they also met prominent Indians and civil society members.

“India and Bahrain share a deep, historic friendship built on trust, shared values and mutual respect.…Together in the fight against terrorism, we discussed matters of mutual interest and India’s firm commitment to combat terror in all its forms,” Panda said in a post on X.

The meeting took place at the Gudaibiya Palace here in the capital city, Manama. The multi-party MPs also met Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, the chairman of Shura Bahrain, the upper house of the legislative body of Bahrain, and “underscored India’s resolve to fight against terrorism and strengthen bilateral ties,” said a post on X by the Indian Embassy in Bahrain.

The delegation also visited Bab Al Bahrain, a historic landmark in Manama, which Panda described as a “symbol of Bahrain’s rich cultural heritage and enduring ties with India.”

“We are here at a difficult time… The difficulty has to do with the latest terror attack in Pahalgam and the hostilities with Pakistan thereafter. We come here in friendship to seek support. India has faced many such terrifying terrorist attacks… Our problem is that our terror attacks are all coordinated by one of our neighbours,” he said during the meeting on Saturday.

He also added, “Bahrain and India have a deep and long-standing relationship. I would like to thank the government of Bahrain for the consistent stand that it has taken. We truly appreciate Bahrain’s strong comments during recent developments.” The delegation offered floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at India House, Bahrain.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, also a member of the delegation, while answering a question said, “Our government has sent us here, and various other delegations comprising all party members across various parts of the world, so that the world knows of the threat that India has been facing. The terrorists have justified killings of innocent people in India. In our opinion, there is no difference between terrorists in Pakistan and ISIS takfiri ideology,” Owaisi said.

The delegation will head to Kuwait on May 26. Besides Panda and Owaisi, former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chairperson of the National Commission for Women and Rajya Sabha MP Rekha Sharma are also among the delegation members.

MP Jha-led all-party delegation meets Indian diaspora in South Korea

An all-party parliamentary delegation on Sunday shared insights on the military campaign Operation Sindoor with the members of the Indian diaspora here in Seoul.

The delegation, led by JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan’s designs and India’s response to terror. It arrived in the South Korean capital on Saturday.

“Representing a unified front, the delegates clearly explained Pakistan’s involvement in orchestrating the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 and how India launched Operation Sindoor in response, striking terror infrastructures in both Pakistan and PoK," the Indian Embassy here said in a post on X.

“Our initial response as well as subsequent action was measured, targeted, non-escalatory and responsible," it added.

The delegation, in its meeting with the Indian community, reiterated the Modi government’s stand against terrorism and said that dialogue cannot co-exist with terror. In its post, the Embassy commended the Indian diaspora “for upholding the principles of tolerance, pluralism and unity, for standing resilient against terrorism and for amplifying the national resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms."

Earlier, the delegation attended a briefing by Ambassador Amit Kumar, who “highlighted the Korean-specific approach to the scheduled engagements, setting the context for India’s stance of zero tolerance against terrorism. “We had a constructive meeting with @KumarAmitMEA, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea, focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation," Jha said in a post on X.

Besides Jha, the delegation comprises MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Abhishek Banerjee, Brij Lal, John Brittas, Pradan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and former ambassador of India to France and Bahrain Mohan Kumar.

India