Terror struck again in Kashmir on April 22, 2025, killing 26 innocent tourists at Pahalgam. Following this, India targeted key positions in Pakistan in the name of ‘Operation Sindoor.’ However, it ended within 25 minutes of precision strikes at nine locations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and a few spots inside Pakistan. As expected, Pakistan hit back, and India continued to retaliate for several days.
The eventual ceasefire, however, was controversial. US President Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that he alone obtained a ceasefire. India denies this, declaring that it was obtained via a bilateral talk between the two militaries. Contrarily, Pakistan thanked the US president for his intervention.
Nonetheless, in the ‘post-‘Sindoor Operation’ scenario, there is no news in any media outlet today about the four terrorists who killed 26 innocent tourists. The mighty, powerful Home Minister gave no answer as to where the four terrorists were hiding. However, Indian parliamentarians and former top diplomats were sent to 32 countries as a ‘special delegation’ to explain India’s stance on terrorism. This delegation involves people from across major political parties. The Indian treasury paid their travel expenses and made all other arrangements. What did these groups achieve? How did India benefit from this? Let us analyze it as follows.
There should not and cannot be any compromise on national security matters. India does not need to ask anyone’s permission for preemptive strikes if we believe that there are visible threats to internal security. Even after taking action, we do not need to answer to anyone. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter clearly states that all states have the right to defend their borders against external threats and aggression.
Seven Special Delegations: Based on the request made by the BJP government to the Congress Party, the names of senior parliamentarians and former Union ministers were nominated by the Congress leadership to the government. However, for petty political gains, these given names were not included in this delegation. Instead, the BJP included some other names from the Congress Party on their own. The BJP did not clarify the reasons for these omissions and additions. Isn’t this a political game to include members of a party in this delegation without the concerned party’s permission?
After being given the opportunity to contest the election as official candidates of the Congress Party, it seems that their tones are different. Here, the interviews and statements given by the newly added BJP’s preferred Congress Party MPs are humorous. They say, when it comes to national security, that the nation is their priority.
Our question here is, when great leaders, especially those from the Congress Party, sacrificed their lives for the Indian nation, didn’t they all live for the nation above party politics? We are unable to understand the magic words of these MPs. What should they have said when their names were included in this group without the party’s permission? ‘We thank the BJP government for including us in this delegation. But the Congress Party has always stood by the government in the cause of national security. It will always continue. Jai Hind!’ This is what they should have said.
Also, we could have all saluted them if the newly added MPs had said that they do not agree with this political drama called the ‘special delegation.’ But they did not do that. So, it is not surprising that even the MPs from the Congress Party have fallen into the BJP’s ‘special delegation’ political game.
What is the role of Indian ambassadors? With a special delegation traveling to 32 countries, what job are our ambassadors doing in all these countries? What is their job? Our ambassadors, based on the special status and rights granted by the UN Charter in the country where they serve, believe that it would be sufficient for them to meet the foreign affairs ministers and high officials in the ministry of those countries and convey India’s concerns. That is why they are deployed there.
The reason is that when a country’s ambassador meets the foreign minister or the foreign secretary of that country, it is considered very important.
Being a representative of India, he can easily share with them the position of the Indian government and the rights of our nation. Sending this special team whilst our country’s ambassadors have so many privileges shows this government’s lack of confidence in our ambassadors.
The purpose of a special delegation is to expose Pakistan’s terrorist connections on the world stage. Reports suggest that these teams have completed their special journey and shared their achievements with the prime minister. The people of this wonderful nation believe that the greatness of democracy lies in sharing with them those benefits that India has obtained through these special delegations.
Special delegations were also sent to countries like Liberia, Panama, Ethiopia, and Slovenia. Yet, why doesn’t the government plan to send such a delegation to countries like China and Turkey? These are the countries that support Pakistan blindly.
Furthermore, in how many countries did this special delegation meet with foreign ministers and senior foreign ministry officials? Reports suggest that some groups have met Indians living in the countries they visited. What benefit will India get from meeting Indians living abroad and talking about Pakistan? Don’t Indians living abroad know the nature of Pakistan?
No powerful country has a history of sending such teams when there is room in international law to protect its borders. No matter which country you choose, whether it’s the U.S., UK, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, or Israel, they will take strong action against terrorism, but they won’t politicize it. If necessary, they will issue a statement.
So, this special delegation, which is not useful in any way, was formed entirely for political gain. This act makes a mockery of international respect and our diplomatic activities. Therefore, it is unnecessary and ineffective. It should have been avoided. It undermines our capability. It portrays India’s soft power as weak in the international system.
