Jay Panda-led MPs delegation presented India's case against Pak-sponsored terror effectively: Owaisi

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who was part of the delegation of MPs that toured Saudi Arabia and other countries, said on Wednesday that the group effectively presented India's case against Pakistan's support to terrorism to their hosts.

Speaking to a news agency, he praised leader of the delegation and BJP MP Baijayant Panda for articulating India's position very clearly and strongly.

All members of the delegation fulfilled their responsibilities effectively, he said.

"We presented India’s case firmly, informing our counterparts and key leadership in each country about Pakistan’s role in supporting terrorism in India. We highlighted several incidents attributed to Pakistan that have led to the loss of innocent lives, the most significant being the Pahalgam attack. Overall, it was a collective effort," the Hyderabad MP said.

The delegation, led by Panda and including Owaisi, visited Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain and Kuwait to convey India's strong stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

On the response from the countries visited by them, Owaisi said the delegation has tried its best to put forward India's case against Pakistan-supported terrorism, about the Pahalgam terror attack and that the email claiming responsibility for the attack was sent from two places in Pakistan, among others.

The MPs delegation also told the leadership in the four countries visited by them to include Pakistan in the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) again for ensuring world peace, he said.

They did not object to Pakistan being included in the FATF last time, he said, hoping that some good results would come out of the visit of the MPs' delegation. Owaisi said the countries visited by his group have all, at some point of time, been victims of terrorism perpetrated by Al-Qaeda.

For instance, in Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh bomb blast in May 2003 was carried out by Al-Qaeda, he said.

"We told them that India, too, has been a victim of such terrorism. When it comes to the ideology of groups like Al-Qaeda, Daesh (ISIS), LeT, JeM, or others, there’s no difference. They all believe in and even justify killing innocent people. Pakistan has now become the epicenter of Takfirism (practice of accusing other Muslims of apostasy)," he said.

On the demand for a special session of Parliament by various parties, including the AIMIM, Owaisi said AIMIM definitely wants a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack to take place in the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.

He said that he hoped the Narendra Modi government would allow discussions to take place. "There are important questions that need to be asked. Who is accountable for the massacre of those innocent 26 people? How did that security lapse happen? These questions are important: What will be our deterrence policy? And going forward what steps can be taken," he asked. The government cannot "run away" by saying it is a sensitive subject, he said. "If it is a sensitive subject, the rules of Parliament allow a government to have a discussion in camera which in 1960 happened. But, a discussion must take place," Owaisi demanded.