Three of the seven all-party delegations being sent overseas to mobilise opinion against Pakistan are set to head out this week.
Their brief is multifold — impress upon the international community the need to de-hyphenate India from Pakistan, pre-empt any move by Islamabad to force India’s hand on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and stress the need for the world to be unequivocal on terror.
The delegations headed by JDU’s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde and DMK’s Kanimozhi were briefed on Tuesday by foreign secretary Vikram Misri and informed that they would interact not just with the governments of the countries but also civil society, think tanks and the media. They have been advised to be careful of what they say.
Misri contextualised Operation Sindoor and the decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, pointing out that this was evidence of India’s patience with Pakistan wearing thin. Operation Sindoor, it was pointed out, was a targeted attack on Pakistan’s terror camps but the Pakistan armed forces chose to retaliate, after which India was left with no option but to respond.
“We did not want to spar with Pakistan at all; we wanted to hit their terror camps only,” Misri is said to have told the delegations, pointing out that Islamabad was trying to play the victim card in its own diplomatic outreach. And, in the case of the IWT, he pointed out that the preamble to the treaty states that it is a “gesture of goodwill” which has been repeatedly negated by Pakistan.
Misri also explained the choice of 33 countries that the all-party delegations are being sent to in groups of eight. Each delegation is being accompanied by at least one retired diplomat. The countries being visited include all the UN Security Council members — permanent and non-permanent — barring China and Pakistan, besides significant capitals in Europe and the Arab world.