"Pakistan directly or indirectly funding terrorists and terrorist outfits": All-party member Anurag Thakur in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], May 31 : BJP MP Anurag Thakur, member of the all-party delegation led by NCP-SCP Supriya Sule as part of Modi government's big diplomatic outreach, on Saturday, said that the solidarity which Ethiopia has shown with the people of India against terrorism shows that we have a "common cause", "zero tolerance" against terrorism.

"African Union has been suffering for a long time in the Sahel region where more than 3,43,000 people and armed forces have lost their lives. It is the African Union that has a clear-cut policy and framework on terrorism. We have requested them and we have told them our viewpoint on how India has been facing cross-border terrorism for so many decades and has lost thousands of lives. The recent attack in Pahalgam was based on religion, which tried to divide the country. But 1.4 billion Indians stand united in this fight against terrorism, "Thakur told ANI.

He also rebuked Pakistan for "indirectly or directly funding" the terrorists.

"We collectively, from the Ethiopian side and the Indian side, agreed on the lines of the global coalition against terrorism. India is facing state-sponsored terrorism where Pakistan is directly or indirectly funding the terrorists and the terrorist outfits...The solidarity which Ethiopia has shown with the people of India against terrorism shows that we have a common cause, zero tolerance against terrorism..."

On Saturday, the delegation had several meetings, including one with Adem Farah, Vice President of the Prosperity Party, Ethiopia's ruling party; a meeting with the Peace and Security Council of the African Union at its Headquarters; and a meeting with former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

The delegation had arrived at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia on Friday, where they were received and welcomed by the Ambassador of India to Ethiopia, Anil Kumar Rai.

The delegation also includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Singh Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Anand Sharma (Congress), V Muraleedharan (BJP), and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin.

Recently, the delegation concluded its diplomatic visit to South Africa with a series of meetings at India House in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, involving political leaders, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora.

In a diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, the Modi government has formed seven multi-party delegations to inform nations about Pakistan's links to terrorism and India's strong message of zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The delegations aim to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism.

The seven delegations are visiting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia, Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack by Pak-sponsored terrorists in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

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