Jakarta, May 29 (IANS) The all-party delegation, led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, held an insightful interaction with scholars and researchers from Indonesia-based think tanks and academia and said that India will not make any distinction hereafter between terrorists and countries that promote them.
The delegation sought support to jointly explore ways to combat the menace of terrorism while presenting India’s strong and unified message of zero tolerance to maintain peace and regional stability.
Addressing the event, Jha appreciated the Government of Indonesia and President Prabowo Subianto for condemning the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and expressing solidarity with the people of India, highlighting that such atrocities are unjustifiable.
He represented a unified and bipartisan voice of India determined to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
“Today, we are meeting with a prominent think tank and member of academia, which serves as an invaluable catalyst in formulating counter-terrorism policies. The purpose of this interaction is to brief India’s point of view and our strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism, henceforth emanating from Pakistan. The terrorist attack on Jammu and Kashmir is carried out with nefarious design to disrupt normalcy and to promote communal disharmony in India,” said Jha
Asserting India’s position on terrorism, Jha stated, “India will not accept any nuclear blackmail, those who shelter and promote terrorists cannot hide behind the so-called nuclear umbrella, adding that any further terrorist incidents in the country will be met with resolute and decisive military actions.”
“India, along with other countries like Indonesia, has a zero tolerance for terrorism, and to implement this, India will not make any distinction hereafter between terrorists and countries that promote them,” he further stated.
The parliamentarian also stated that the Indian delegation held productive official meetings, including the Vice Chairman of Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, the Chairperson of the India-Indonesia Parliamentary Friendship group, the secretary general of ASEAN and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, where the Indonesian side conveyed unequivocal condemnation for the act of terrorism and supported India’s policy of zero tolerance for terrorism.
“We have been holding interactions and seeking support from Indonesia in locating terrorism, its backers, and financiers, sponsors at all crucial international forums and intergovernmental organisations. In the fight against terrorism, there is no neutral voice, every country needs to be together to fight terrorism,” Jha stated.
“Every stakeholder, including think tanks and academia, has to play its role to counter extremist narrative and combat terrorism in all its forms. Today, we seek support from the think tank community and academia community in Indonesia who influence and enable policymakers to draft strategies for the future,” he added.
The delegation led by Jha includes BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Hemang Joshi, and Pradan Baruah, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Barittas, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and Former Indian Ambassador to France Mohan Kumar.
Speaking to IANS, the members of the delegation mentioned the series of positive engagements where they conveyed India’s firm stance in combating Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
“We received a very positive response during our engagements here. Indonesia is a multicultural society with a Muslim majority, yet there is great respect here for India’s stance,” said Jha
Another member, BJP MP Brij Lal, said, “There has been very good engagement in Indonesia. We spoke with the leaders here, then yesterday evening, we interacted with ASEAN ambassadors, and today, we met with think tanks. We shared India’s position with them. We said that India is a peace-loving country. We are now the world’s fourth-largest economy and aim to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
“On the contrary, our neighbour’s mindset is not right. From time to time, it engages in terrorist activities, which hinder our development. We conveyed India’s position following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent attacks on terror bases in Pakistan when they did not take any action. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated any further terrorist activities in India would be considered as a war against India,” he added.
Congress MP Salman Khurshid also said that Indonesia has given a positive response to India’s action on terrorism.
“Before coming here, we were informed that we should observe how active Pakistan has been in this region and what narratives have been shared. But I am very pleased to see that Indonesia’s outlook is very positive. Their experiences and situations closely resemble those of our country. We received a very positive response from here. The people of Indonesia are also concerned about terrorism and have faced it themselves. They fully understand our concerns and challenges,” he said.
BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi said, “The experience in Indonesia has been very positive. All members of our delegation met with local politicians and interacted with a large number of citizens. It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone here stands firmly against terrorism. There is a strong desire among all to eliminate terrorism. Everyone believes that India is a peace-loving country and does not tolerate terrorism.”
“India remains focused on its development. If Pakistan promotes terrorism, the international community will oppose it. We visited Japan, South Korea and Singapore before coming to Indonesia… Everyone opposed terrorism and vouched for peace and stability. Our visit has been successful till now, and all countries are standing with India in this difficult time,” she added.
–IANS
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