Berlin [Germany], June 7 : Former Ambassador of Germany to India Bernd Mutzelburg said that terrorism is a heinous crime and must be condemned by everybody and stressed that there can be no excuse for committing terrorism against the civilian population. His remarks came as an all-party delegation led by BJP Ravi Shankar Prasad arrived in Germany to explain India's position in the wake of the operation Sindoor and refocus attention on terrorism.
Mutzelburg told ANI, "Terrorism, in whatever form and however it is being put forward, is a heinous crime and must be condemned by everybody. There can be no excuse for committing terrorism against the civilian population... We are standing together in that fight. We have established a strategic partnership 30 years ago. Fortunately, this strategic partnership is now filled with more substance and content. What is important is that this strategic partnership becomes truly strategic. Strategic means it must cope with the security challenges we face together... One of the gravest security challenges we have is the challenge of terrorism. We've really got to stand together against this enormous challenge and fight it wherever we can..."
The former envoy said that after the April 22 Pahalgam "horrendous" terror attack, the all-party delegation arrived in Germany to explain the situation.
"It is a wonderful symbol for the growing friendship between our two countries that such a delegation, which reflects the values of India, composed of representatives of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha*, is here. A fully democratic delegation; we are pleased to listen to them and to share our thoughts with them. I find it very important that after this horrendous and heinous crime of this attack on 22nd April, they come here to explain the situation to us. I think that is very important...," he added.
The delegation led by Ravi Shankar Prasad arrived in Germany after concluding their visit to Belgium.
The other delegates are BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari, MJ Akbar, Gulam Ali Khatana, and Samik Bhattacharya; Congress MP Amar Singh, Priyanka Chaturvedi from Shiv Sena (UBT), AIADMK MP M Thambidurai and former diplomat Pankaj Saran.
Earlier, Ravi Shankar Prasad said they raised strong concerns about terrorism during their visit to Brussels and generals of Pakistan "run that country with the help of a military terrorist coalition", which is a "threat" to democracy and humanity.
This diplomatic effort forms part of India's global outreach following Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored militants that claimed 26 lives and injured several others.
Subsequently, the Indian Armed Forces carried out targeted strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
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