BJP MP Baijayant Panda said that India is taking economic steps to pressurise Pakistan into ending terrorism on its soil and these measures include restrictions on trade, shipping, water, and visas.
BJP MP Baijayant Panda, who is leading an all-party delegation to Kuwait, on Tuesay stated that India will no longer remain silent in the face of terrorism from Pakistan and will respond strongly. Moreover, Baijayant Panda demanded that Pakistan must end terrorism on its soil and stop spreading misinformation.
He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts in strengthening India’s ties with Gulf countries and added that the Indian community in Kuwait is well-respected.
While speaking to ANI, Panda said, “The meetings in Kuwait have been outstanding. We met the Deputy PM and many other stakeholders. This is a country with which India has had a relationship for centuries. In recent years, PM Modi’s efforts at building relationships around the world has also led to tremendous results here in the Middle-East and Gulf countries. When PM Modi visited here, Kuwait gave him its highest civilian honour.”
He stressed that India will not tolerate terrorism and vows to retaliate. Speaking about Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Panda said that India has tried various approaches, including treaties and diplomacy, but will no longer succumb to nuclear blackmail.
“There is another factor also, Kuwait has also suffered from terrorism and has taken a stand against terrorism in various international forums and has given strong statements after our recent situation where terrorists attacked and killed people in Pahalgam. So, in this context, the message we are carrying is that same thing that PM has pointed out, that India has suffered from state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan for so many decades. We have tried everything. We have tried treaties, cricket diplomacy, our leaders have gone there and invited them. All of that has been tried. Now we have changed our approach, and it is now very clear that we will not succumb to nuclear blackmail and we will retaliate…The message is very clear that we don’t want hostility but we will not sit tight when they harm India and Indians. So, we will retaliate, we will not succumb to their nuclear blackmail,” Panda said.
He asserted that India is taking economic steps to pressurise Pakistan into ending terrorism on its soil. These measures include restrictions on trade, shipping, water, and visas.
He further added, “We are also taking a lot of economic steps, having to do with trade, shipping, water and visas. The whole idea is to nudge Pakistan into getting rid of terrorism because they have these large number of terrorists and terror organisations operating freely on their soil. These are organisations which have been sanctioned and banned by the UN and others. This has to end. This message is going across very well. We are being received very well and they understand the situation and the outcome is turning out to be very positive.”
Panda also confirmed that the issue of keeping Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list was discussed during their meetings.
He said the delegation conveyed a strong message that global steps are needed to pressure Pakistan to abandon terrorism. “We have covered a variety of issues, including this one. Again and again, the message we have communicated, which is getting resonance, is that steps should be taken to nudge and convince Pakistan to give up terrorism, and it will involve a wide variety of steps. FATF is one of the issues that was discussed,” Panda said.
(With inputs from ANI)
