"Foreign Secretary, Commerce Secretary answered around 50 questions; committee satisfied:" Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi [India], August 12 : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared insights from the Committee of External Affairs Meeting, where several issues such as the India-US ties and how the relationship is important were discussed during the meeting, which lasted around three hours on Monday.

Speaking to media after the meeting, the Congress MP expressed satisfaction that the Foreign and Commerce Secretaries had answered around 50 questions to the 22 members.

"We asked around 50 questions, reflecting the interest of the nation in knowing more about all development involving tariffs, negotiations with the US; involving other geopolitical implications all of these were covered in the questions."

Tharoor also said, "Foreign Secretary took pains to reaffirm the importance of the Indo-US relationship despite this particular problem. Commerce Secretary also assured us that the process of dialogue is ongoing. I feel the committee has left feeling fairly satisfied that many of the issues that were on the minds of people are issues that our senior colleagues in government are thinking about and have given us credible responses to. "

The Congress MP told the media that the Foreign Secretary's main focus was on geopolitical and strategic considerations.

"He made it clear that this (India-US) is a very important relationship which has multiple levels, of which trade is only one aspect and that I think is something we should all appreciate. The Commerce Secretary focused entirely on the trade discussion.

Speaking about the upcoming India-US trade talks slated for later in August, Shashi Tharoor said, " As now there is no change in the existing plans for a sixth round. Now if the American delegation is not coming they will have to tell us they are not coming. So far there is no such thing."

Tharoor also spoke about the remarks made by the Pak Army Chief in the US.

He said, "Munir's statement on American soil has been brought up. Concern was expressed about the misuse of a friendly country, the country's soil, to say something about us in this manner. But at the same time, the fact that nuclear sabre-rattling is something the Pakistanis like to do has been dismissed by the MEA in a statement. So we will echo that statement. The committee shares the same view that we are not going to allow this kind of nonsense to influence our thinking. Nuclear blackmail will not work with India, and no party, no representative of any party, disagrees with that principle."

Tharoor's remarks come after Munir's comments in Florida, where he reportedly said Pakistan could use nuclear weapons to take down India and "half the world" in the event of an existential threat.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday issued a strong statement in response to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff during his visit to the United States.

"Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff while on a visit to the United States. Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan's stock-in-trade," the MEA official spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added, "The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also reinforce the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups.

"The MEA spokesperson further expressed regret that these remarks were made from the soil of a friendly third country. "It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country," the official said.

"India has already made it clear that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail and will continue to take all necessary steps to safeguard its national security, the MEA spokesperson affirmed. The MEA statement further said.

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