India’s zero-tolerance stance on terrorism was loudly hailed in South Africa after an all-party delegation addressed an audience of over 350 expatriates and some local Indians here, citing Pakistan as the sponsor of terrorism.

While speaking at the event on Tuesday evening, barely two hours after landing in Johannesburg, the delegation called on Indian nationals in South Africa and the local community to join India’s unapologetic fight on global terror.

The delegation led by NCP-SP MP Sule 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, especially in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Each member of the delegation shared elements of the brutal Pahalgam attack as they also gave details of Operation Sindoor that has targetted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Kashmir, resulting in the elimination of over 100 terrorists belonging to various groups.

“When PM Modi took oath in 2014, he invited every neighbour to his oath ceremony to send a message that we wanted the subcontinent to be peaceful and happy and to grow together. But, unfortunately, with the Pahalgam incident, it has not happened. This incident has shaken every Indian everywhere in the world. I am happy South Africa has stood by India,” Sule said. South Africa was one of the first countries to condemn the April 22 terror attack. Explaining the rationale for her delegation’s four-country visit this week, Sule said the Pahalgam terrorist attack was “an attack on India’s soul.” “Hence, the truth must be told to the world that we won’t tolerate terrorism. India is a country that has never initiated a war ever; we stand by that. We want peace, but not at the cost of losing our hardworking, innocent souls,” Sule added.

Apart from Sule, the delegation comprises BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Thakur and V Muraleedharan, Congress leaders Manish Tewari and Anand Sharma, TDP leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, AAP leader Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin.

“We see this as an act of undermining our social cohesion. We are a pluralistic country with diversity as our signature, yet we saw an attempt to undermine that social consensus,” said Syed Akbaruddin, former Permanent Representative of India to the UN. Muraleedharan, who is also the former minister of state for External Affairs, called on the gathering to reach out to everyone that they knew to help India in reaching a global consensus against terrorism so that the world could grow peacefully. “Diaspora is a living bridge of India to the world, which has a major role to play … to spread the message that every act of terrorism will be against the progress of humankind.” Thakur said, “Pakistan is the only country in the world where 52 entities and individuals named in the UNSC list, which are affiliated with terrorism, all have links with Pakistan.”

Sahney reminded the audience that India’s policy of non-violence, as espoused by Mahatma Gandhi, was born in South Africa during his tenure here as a young lawyer, when he led the fight against racial discrimination. Sahney, who also quoted Nelson Mandela, burst into ‘Mera Rang De Basanti Chola’ song to much applause and accompaniment from the audience.

Sharma, another former minister, recounted how India had led the international fight against apartheid in South Africa for decades, including refusing to participate in international sports events such as the David Cup in tennis because South Africa was participating in these events and even cancelled a tour by England in 1988 for a cricket series.

The delegation, which arrived from Qatar, would proceed to Cape Town over the next two days to meet South African political leaders in Parliament, as well as civic society there. It will then proceed to Ethiopia and Egypt. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 under Operation Sindoor, following which Pakistan attempted to attack the Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

World should speak in one voice against terrorism: Italian Senator

An all-party delegation on Wednesday met Italian Senator Stefania Craxi, who said the world should speak in one voice against terrorism and proposed India-Italy cooperation to address the global menace. The eight-member delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, which arrived in Rome on Tuesday, briefed Craxi, the head of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, about India’s united stance against terrorism in all its forms, and zero tolerance against cross-border terrorism, the Indian mission in Rome said.The delegation 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, especially in view of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.”Senator Craxi stated that we should speak in one voice against terrorism and proposed India-Italy cooperation to address this global scourge,” the Indian Embassy in Rome said on X. The delegation, upon arriving in Rome, was received by Ambassador Vani Rao, who briefed the team about its packed schedule in the city.”The delegation will convey India’s firm and united message against cross-border terrorism...” the embassy said.

The delegation led by Prasad visited France before arriving in Italy. It will then visit Denmark, Germany, the UK, and the European Union in Brussels.The delegation’s discussions in Italy are aimed at strengthening India’s bilateral and international cooperation to combat terrorism, according to a statement by the Indian Embassy in Rome.

“The visit will further enhance mutual understanding between India and Italy and strengthen the growing strategic partnership,” it said.

The delegation would interact with parliament members, think tanks, the media in Rome, and also meet a cross-section of the vibrant Indian community in Italy.The statement said the leadership of India and Italy had been in contact with each other since the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 24 to reiterate Italy’s commitment to combat international terrorism. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 under Operation Sindoor, following which Pakistan attempted to attack the Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

Indonesia supports India

Indonesian officials on Wednesday supported India’s zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism as an all-party parliamentary delegation led by JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha arrived in Jakarta with a mission to convey New Delhi’s unequivocal stance against the menace. The delegation met with Muhammad Husein Fadlulloh, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, and Muhammad Rofiqi, SH, Chairperson of the Indonesia-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, to sensitise them on India’s strong commitment against terrorism, the Indian Embassy in Jakarta posted on X.”Indonesian side conveyed that they condemn terrorism and believe in dialogue for solving problems, not terrorism as it is against humanity, supporting India’s zero-tolerance approach,” it said. The delegation arrived in Jakarta earlier in the day as part of India’s diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor. “India stands committed to fight terrorism in all its forms. Through this outreach, India sets out to seek understanding and support of its historic friend and comprehensive strategic partner, Jakarta,” the embassy said. Besides Jha, the delegation comprises MPs Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Brij Lal (BJP), John Brittas (CPI-M) and others.

The delegation is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community to emphasise Pakistan’s links to terrorism and assert that the recent conflict was triggered by the Pahalgam terror strike and not Operation Sindoor, as alleged by Islamabad.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7.

Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.

Panama assures India of its support for ‘war against terror’

Panama City. Panama has assured India of its support for the “war against terror” as an all-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met National Assembly President Dana Castaneda here to convey New Delhi’s strong message of zero-tolerance for terrorism. The delegation reached the Central American country on Tuesday. It is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead. In an early Wednesday morning post on X, Tharoor said the delegation called on Castaneda, who was accompanied by senior members of Parliament Edwin Vergara and Julio de la Guardia, and “explained our mission to her and received strong assurances of understanding and support for India’s war against terror”. During the meeting on Tuesday, the Congress MP presented the National Assembly President with a Kashmiri shawl, and she reciprocated with a warrior symbol. “After I presented her with a Kashmiri shawl, from the place where terror had struck, the President reciprocated with a warrior symbol, urging India to fight on with determination. Greeted her colleague Kathy Bhikhu, who was born in Gujarat!,” Tharoor said.

Earlier, Tharoor signed the visitors’ book and visited the main hall of the National Assembly.

“A positive start to our Panama visit,” he posted on X along with some photographs of the event.

The multi-party MPs’ delegation also visited the Indian Cultural Centre in Panama City and offered devotions at the temple there.

“It was moving to see our Muslim colleague Sarfraz Ahmed join his Hindu and Sikh colleagues at the temple. As he later told the audience, ‘jab bulane walon ko koi aitraaz nahin, toh jaane walo ko aitraaz kyon hoga’?” Tharoor posted on X.

He also addressed members of the Indian community in Panama.

“A memorable evening with a 300-strong audience from the Indian community in Panama (mainly Gujaratis and Sindhis, with a sprinkling of others). I addressed the gathering on our mission and invited my colleagues to join in — four of them did, mainly in Hindi, to much applause,” Tharoor said.

Besides Tharoor, the delegation comprises Sarfraz Ahmad (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), and former ambassador of India to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.

India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.