New Delhi: In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, seven all-party delegations visited several countries to convey India’s message against cross-border terrorism. Key questions raised by countries visited by the delegations have been related to US President Donald Trump’s role in the India-Pakistan ceasefire, the number of fighter jets India lost in the military face-off, the status of Muslims in India, the western narrative portraying India and Pakistan as equally responsible, the potential use of nuclear weapon, and Pakistan’s inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
The most challenging outing was in Malaysia, where Pakistan tried to invoke “Islamic solidarity” to undermine India’s outreach. While the Indian delegation was in Kuala Lumpur, the Pakistani embassy reportedly urged Malaysian officials to cancel the delegation’s programmes. Malaysia, however, reportedly refused to entertain Pakistan’s request.
BJP MP Brij Lal, who was part of the Sanjay Jha-led delegation that visited Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, said to ThePrint, “Pakistan tried to scuttle our mission. The Malaysian embassy was very active and questioned why we were making the trip. We told them, ‘Pakistan is your friend, but you must distinguish between perpetrator and defender’.”
“We told them they are free to keep their friendship with Pakistan, but should remember what Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said in 1965—that Pakistan would wage a ‘thousand-year war’ against India. That reflects the mindset of their leadership and military. Even General Zia-ul-Haq had repeated that statement. We also reminded them of (Pakistani Army chief) Asim Munir’s remark a week before the Pahalgam attack,” he added.
Sanjay Jha, who led the delegation, said, “Indonesia’s stand was more supportive, as they share Indian culture despite having the world’s largest Muslim population…. We told them that Pakistan keeps bringing resolutions against India in the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation). Since we are not a part of the OIC, we asked them to also consider our point of view before entertaining such resolutions. Indonesia agreed to this, but Malaysia made no such commitment. We sensed a slight tilt in Malaysia’s position towards Pakistan.”
Another challenging visit was in Colombia, where the nation initially condoled the deaths of Pakistanis in India’s strike during the Indian delegation’s visit. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s delegation met Colombia’s vice-minister of foreign affairs and presented a detailed timeline. Their discussions led Colombia to withdraw its statement supporting Pakistan. This was significant as Colombia is set to become a member of the UN Security Council starting 1 January, 2026, making its stance very important for India.
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, a member of Tharoor’s delegation said, “Since Colombia has been a victim of terrorism, they understood India’s position after the initial goof-up. The problem in many countries is that they lack understanding of India’s perspective and tend to treat India and Pakistan on par in the ongoing tensions.”
BJP MP Baijayant Panda, who led the delegations to the Muslim-majority nations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Algeria, and Kuwait, was asked a range of questions during his visits—from President Trump’s role in announcing the ceasefire, to India’s economic trajectory and the status of Muslims in the country, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda told ThePrint, “Since all these countries have suffered from terrorism at some point—Saudi Arabia, for instance, was a victim of Al-Qaeda, with bombings in Riyadh in 2003—we didn’t have to convince them. They shared our concerns. Most of these countries have dealt firmly with jihadi elements. We argued for keeping Pakistan on the FATF grey list and presented facts showing that when Pakistan was under grey list monitoring, terrorist activity and cross-border terrorism had reduced.”
In October 2022, Pakistan was removed from the FATF Grey List, which includes countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes.
On questions being raised about Trump’s role in mediation between India and Pakistan during the recent conflict, Panda said, “We categorically stated that during such escalations, many countries offer suggestions or make phone calls—just as we did during the Russia-Ukraine war. That doesn’t mean we were mediating. The India-Pakistan issue is a bilateral one, and we agreed to a ceasefire only after Pakistan’s DGMO reached out to us.”
Panda shared that AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi and Democratic Progressive Azad Party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who were also part of the delegation led by him, “very emphatically” conveyed India’s position on terrorism and highlighted how Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir have suffered due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
During an interaction in Bahrain, Owaisi said, “Quran has categorically stated that killing of one innocent person, Quran has not said the killing of one innocent Muslim, it says the killing of one innocent person is like killing of whole humankind. Islam has condemned terrorism. Pakistan has used religion to justify killing of people. There is no difference between these terrorists and ISIS.”
He added that Pakistan has become the epicentre of “takfirism”—the practice of accusing fellow Muslims of apostasy.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, known for his strong Hindutva stance, defended the situation of Muslims in India when questioned during a delegation visit. “With all clarity, we are articulating who is treating minorities how in their countries. After independence, India’s Muslim population was around 9-10 percent. Now it is about 20 percent. On the other hand, the Hindu population in Pakistan was 13 percent and is now just 1 percent. So, it is Pakistan that is treating its minorities badly, and also impacting India through terror. We have been able to communicate this as well,” he said during the visit.
Panda said, “Nishikant Dubey ji might have tweeted to address his domestic constituency during the trip, but during the outreach mission, all members spoke for India and showcased the country’s religious and cultural diversity.”
Even Ghulam Nabi Azad, who fell ill during the trip, said, “When the Pahalgam terror attack happened, Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir came out onto the roads to show solidarity with the victims.”
Also read: All-party delegation isn’t failure of Indian missions abroad. Diplomats work behind the camera
Questions about Rafale performance, India’s economy
Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, part of DMK MP Kanimozhi’s delegation to Greece, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, and Latvia, told ThePrint, “One suggestion during the visit was to continue the ceasefire and hold talks with Pakistan. I intervened and said, ‘We hear your suggestion. India has a democratically elected government with a prime minister, but in Pakistan, the army controls the civilian government, which acts like a puppet. Let us know whom to talk to. Pakistan has the biggest gang of terrorists’.”
“I also raised the point that before Munir, only one other Pakistani officer was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal by a civilian government despite military losses,” he said.
In Spain, the delegation was questioned about the situation of the Muslim population in Jammu and Kashmir. “We briefed them on the successful elections, the presence of a civilian government, and how the people of Jammu and Kashmir showed solidarity after the terror attack,” said Rai.
Greece asked about the Rafale fighter jets and whether any had been shot down by Pakistan. “Their interest was in understanding Rafale’s performance and technical details. We assumed they were seeking feedback for a purchase,” he added.
In Japan and Korea, according to Brij Lal, the delegation was questioned about the precision of India’s operation. “We explained that our technological advances allowed us to carry out the strike without harming civilians. It targeted only terrorist camps and their airbases, completed with precision in 22 minutes. We emphasised that India is a peace-loving country and cited the example of the IC 814 hijacking, which had Abdul Rauf Azhar (younger brother of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar) behind it. India retaliated by eliminating 10 members of his family to send a strong message.”
With India’s economy reaching fourth place, overtaking Japan, the Indian delegation was asked about the country’s economic performance. “We said, within 2 years, we will surpass Germany’s economy, too, reflecting India’s focus on development and peaceful coexistence,” said Brij Lal.
He added that the question of a possible nuclear conflict and escalation also came up. “We categorically stated that India follows a no-first-use nuclear policy and firmly stands by it,” he said.
Outcomes shared with Jaishankar
The outreach delegations on Operation Sindoor led by Sanjay Jha and Kanimozhi met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Thursday to brief him on the outcomes of their visits. Baijayant Panda’s delegation had met the minister earlier to apprise him of their results.
AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, part of Kanimozhi’s delegation said, “After returning today, we met External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. He wanted to know the response in the five countries we visited. We told him about it. Wherever we went, they appreciated the steps taken by India against terrorism…External Affairs Minister said he will talk to the Prime Minister about all our feedback and inform him on the matter.”
According to SP’s Rajeev Rai, the delegation told Jaishankar that “A few countries complained that our bilateral parliamentary forum is not functioning effectively. It should be regularised to allow regular exchange of views and to strengthen our mutual relationship—not just during times of crisis.”
Former Union minister S.S. Ahluwalia, who was part of the delegation led by Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde—to UAE, UAE, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Congo—said to ThePrint “Our mission was to present India’s viewpoint to the world. Many questions were asked about the ceasefire, our measured response, and Trump’s role. We reminded the countries how India has suffered from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism even during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, despite his best efforts. Vajpayee used to say that Pakistan is our neighbour because of geography and we cannot change that, but we can bring about a change and make Pakistan our friend.”
“So, during the Lahore Declaration, he travelled to Lahore by bus. But what happened after that? Kargil happened… Time and again, we try to reach a settlement and send a message of peace, but Pakistan always betrays us. Pakistan does not engage in a conventional war with us but engages in terrorism because it wants to weaken us,” he said.
Ahluwalia was part of the PA Sangma-led delegation to Brussels, seeking the European Union’s support, following the 2001 Parliament attack.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: India’s all-party delegations show a problem with our embassies
