‘India-Pak Hyphenation Now A Reality’: Cong Questions Centre, Jaishankar Slams ‘Dishonest’ Charges—Report

<p>The Congress party on Monday raised multiple concerns during a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on cross-border terrorism, questioning the government&rsquo;s handling of India-Pakistan relations and regional diplomacy. According to party sources cited by news agency ANI, the government was unable to explain why &ldquo;India-Pakistan hyphenation is now a reality&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Congress members reportedly flagged India&rsquo;s abstention from voting on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Pakistan, asking for clarity on the government&rsquo;s position. They also expressed alarm over what they described as &ldquo;deepening military and strategic ties&rdquo; between Pakistan and China.</p>
<p>The committee also discussed remarks made by US Senator Marco Rubio about brokering peace between India and Pakistan, with the Congress seeking the government&rsquo;s stand on such international interventions.</p>
<p>ANI reported sources present at the meeting saying the government laid out its strategy on counter-terror efforts, which included diplomatic initiatives and targeted strikes against terror hubs. &ldquo;India went for the terror targets, exposing Pakistan, which couldn&rsquo;t protect the three major camps, the epicentre of terrorism. It has hit the morale of Pakistan forces,&rdquo; a source stated.</p>
<p>The government claimed that India received international support for its anti-terror operation, not just from friendly nations but broadly across the global community. &ldquo;Because we made it a fight&mdash;an operation against terror&mdash;the international community has backed India. It wasn&rsquo;t against Pakistan per se, so the support came from all countries other than just three&mdash;Turkey, Azerbaijan and China,&rdquo; said a source familiar with the proceedings.</p>
<h3>Jaishankar Dismisses Congress&rsquo;s ‘Pak Tip Off’ Allegations As ‘Dishonest And Misrepresentation'</h3>
<p>A point of contention during the meeting was the allegation that External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar had tipped off Pakistan prior to the strikes. Congress leaders raised the issue, but government sources asserted that there was &ldquo;absolutely no conversation between India and Pakistan in any manner other than DGMO level, and that too only after the strikes&rdquo;. The sequence, they noted, was clear: &ldquo;the terror hubs were hit, PIB issued a press release, the DGMO of India contacted the Pakistani DGMO&rdquo;.</p>
<p>The EAM described the Congress&rsquo;s allegations as &ldquo;dishonest and a misrepresentation of events&rdquo;, as per ANI.</p>
<p>On the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty, members of the delegation sought clarity on whether the government planned to continue with the agreement or if its suspension was symbolic. The government responded that the treaty was currently &ldquo;in abeyance&rdquo; and that Members of Parliament would be briefed on the next steps.</p>
<p>Regarding international calls, including from US President Donald Trump, encouraging dialogue with Pakistan, the government reiterated its consistent position. &ldquo;The Americans and the other countries who were encouraging India to talk to Pakistan were told that terror and talks will not go together,&rdquo; an ANI source quoted the government as saying.</p>
<p>The EAM is also said to have appealed for &ldquo;national unity&rdquo; in line with the spirit of recent interactions between Indian parliamentary delegations and their counterparts abroad, as per ANI.</p>