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Congress leader and All-party delegation member Salman Khurshid on Monday said that Jammu and Kashmir had embarked on a path of peace, prosperity, and growth, which was seen as a threat by adversaries across the border.
Speaking at a meeting with think tanks in Seoul, Khurshid stated, "This progress sounded unpleasant to the people across the border, who felt that they would lose fertile ground for their future activities. This was the time to strike." He added, "When we were showing that everything was normal and tourists were coming in large numbers, they aimed to hit the spot to portray Kashmir as unsafe for tourists. This was a devious exercise against our successful attempts to normalise the situation and work towards growth and peace in Kashmir." The Congress leader's remarks underline the challenges faced in maintaining peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir amid the ongoing external pressures. Addressing the Indian community in Seoul on Sunday, Khurshid said India struck terrorist camps in Pakistan with precision--but only in response to provocation. He emphasised that India avoided targeting civilian areas and acted with restraint, but once provoked, it responded decisively to neutralise threats and send a clear message. Khurshid noted that the response forced Pakistan to call for a stop. However, he said that Operation Sindoor has not yet ended. "But we have to be careful, which is why the government very clearly said, we are not putting an end to the Operation Sindoor," the Congress leader added. "We know this from our personal experience, and people of Jammu and Kashmir who are here know this from personal experience, but the world perhaps doesn't know it. Those countries that have suffered from terrorism have changed their attitude. But those countries that have been fortunate to not suffer the hands of terrorists continue to make these distinctions between militants and terrorists, freedom fighters and terrorists, and therefore it's very important that our narrative continues," Khurshid added. Khurshid is a member of the all-party delegation led by JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha. The delegation will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. The other members of the delegation are BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, CPI-M's John Brittas, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. 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. 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 (ANI)
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