AAP MP Raghav Chadha slams Pakistan: Lies and loans don't go together, nor do terror and tolerance
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha on 30 May called Operation Sindoor a 'measured' and 'non-escalatory' response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament said India's hand of friendship can transform into a 'fist of retribution; if someone indulges in misadventure.
"Very recently, there was an unfortunate incident in Pahalgam. It becomes very important that we highlight that India's strategic autonomy is also reflected in the fact that in the aftermath of the most cowardly attack of Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were butchered, India did not go around town seeking consent to retaliate," Chadha said speaking at the 'Ideas for India Conference 2025' in London, United Kingdom on 30 May.
Two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack, India on 7 May conducted precision strikes on at least nine terror camps in Pakistan in what is known as 'Operation Sindoor'. India and Pakistan indulged in four days of military action post Operation Sindoor. The two nations, however, agreed on an understanding to halt military action on 10 May.
At a global stage, Chadha said, Pakistan is not a victim state, it's a terror state. "Lies and loans can't go together. Diplomacy and duplicity of Pakistan can't go together. Terror and Tolerance can't exist together. India seeks peace — but if provoked, retribution won't be an exception, it will be an expectation," he said.
Lies and loans can't go together. Diplomacy and duplicity of Pakistan can't go together.
Chadha also pointed out that Pakistan today is in economic turmoil and in an institutional crisis. 'India today is known to export software, to export education, to export agricultural products, dairy products, so on and so forth. Pakistan today is known to export only one thing, terrorism. India is investing in healthcare, education, science and technology, research and development,' he said.
Earlier this month, Chadha was also invited as a keynote speaker at the prestigious Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) 2025, held in Seoul, South Korea. He strongly condemned the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam on a global stage.
He lauded the Indian Army's courage during Operation Sindoor and emphasised that India no longer merely expresses sorrow over acts of terrorism but now responds with precise and decisive military action.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
25 minutes ago
- News18
NSA Ajit Doval Set To Visit China For SCO Meet, Cross-Border Terrorism To Be Key Agenda
Last Updated: NSA Ajit Doval's participation in the summit is a high-stakes balancing act, aiming to expose Pakistan's duplicity while testing China's neutrality National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is set to visit China for the SCO summit, a trip that will be anything but routine. India plans to leverage the recent Pahalgam terror attack to isolate Pakistan and gauge China's stance, top government sources told News18. Doval's participation in the summit is a high-stakes balancing act, aiming to expose Pakistan's duplicity while testing China's neutrality. According to top government sources, a key agenda for India at the SCO will be counterterrorism with Doval expected to confront Pakistan on cross-border terrorism following the Pahalgam attack. India is pushing for the SCO to identify Pakistan-based groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The sources, however, said the SCO may avoid antagonising Pakistan and China, leading to potentially diluted outcomes. China, aiming to normalise relations with India and resume flights, will likely avoid taking strong positions on terrorism due to its close ties with Pakistan, offering only symbolic gestures without strategic shifts, they said. The issue of Iran adds complexity, as Iran has supported India on the Pahalgam attack but is also aligned with China and Pakistan. In fact, Pakistan condemned the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling a high-level meeting of the national security committee on Monday (June 23). India will insist on mentioning the Pahalgam attack in the joint declaration, though China and Pakistan are likely to block this, the sources said. Additionally, India will aim to institutionalise anti-terror measures through the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), they said. They further said India is interested in the Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as counters to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and has already rejected Iran's mediation offer on Kashmir. Russia will quietly support India, backing its stance on terrorism given the ongoing defence and energy cooperation between the two countries, they added. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also likely to travel to China to attend a conclave of the SCO summit. It will be the first visit to China by a senior Indian minister after the ties came under severe strain following the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020. New Delhi and Beijing are in the process of finalising Singh's visit to China. The SCO defence ministers' conclave is scheduled to be held in Qingdao from June 25 to 27. It is learnt that Singh may hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the SCO conclave. China is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of the SCO. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18
India.com
26 minutes ago
- India.com
Pakistan finally breaks silence over US strikes on Iran nuclear sites, leaves everyone in shock, says...
New Delhi: America's entry in the war between Israel and Iran has increased the stir in the Middle East. America carried out rapid attacks on three major nuclear bases of Iran. Meanwhile, Pakistan has strongly condemned the US attack on Iran's nuclear bases. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry posted on its official social media account that America has violated all the rules of international law by carrying out airstrikes. Under the United Nations Charter, Iran has full right to defend itself. The statement said that we have expressed deep concern about the current tense situation in the Middle East. The situation arising from this is very worrying because it will have dire effects in the Middle East and beyond. These attacks are a violation of international law and Iran has full right to defend itself. Let us tell you that Pakistan shares its border with Iran. Pakistan shares a 900 km long border with Iran. Pakistan had also called upon Israel and Iran to end this war as soon as possible. Pakistan had said that diplomacy is the only way to peace, not military conflict. Pakistan had lobbied for the Nobel Prize for Trump Pakistan had lobbied for the Nobel Peace Prize for US President Donald Trump a day earlier. The Pakistan government had formally proposed Trump's name for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The Pakistan government had said that the way Trump resolved the war with India in 2025 through diplomatic intervention and important leadership, it has been decided to propose Trump's name for the Nobel Peace Prize. The neighbouring country had said that it was because of Trump's efforts that a ceasefire took place between India and Pakistan, which averted the major threat of war. For this reason, Trump is the most deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. After the Pahalgam terrorist attack, Islamabad started Operation Bunyan Un Marsoos in response to India's Operation Sindoor.
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Trump tried to belittle India, but his Iran gamble has handed Modi unexpected diplomatic space
Currently, US President Donald Trump is repeatedly, relentlessly, and quite mindlessly hurting India's prestige and position vis-à-vis Pakistan. He has, more than a dozen times, crudely tried to grab credit for the ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan — a deal he never made. India now surprisingly finds itself in a position with a bit of diplomatic space after the early morning strikes by US warplanes on three of Iran's nuclear sites — Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, where uranium enrichment facilities are buried nearly 80 meters beneath a mountain. There is a Gujarati proverb that goes: Ghee gira to khichdi mein . Loosely translated, it means that the minor loss of a valuable thing can sometimes accidentally benefit a larger cause. To be charitable to Trump, at best the US was one of the active parties who wanted a quick end to Operation Sindoor. Now, in the wake of the mother of all strikes against Iran, even the harshest critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar might begin to understand why Trump was on a spree of praising Pakistan and belittling India's mature diplomatic stance. It wasn't a collapse of Indian diplomacy. It was the US's geostrategic dependency on Pakistan, which shares a border with America's staunch enemy, Iran. PM Modi has faced severe criticism — even from within his core support base — over Trump's out-of-control diatribes and the seemingly worsening India-US relationship. But now, unfolding events validate Modi's low-key approach since 10 May. Jaishankar has said many times: 'In cricket match, every ball of all overs can't be played to score runs. But even then, a talented batsman can score a century and win the match.' Also read: Iran's brutal regime is facing a reckoning. Consequences of US attack will go beyond Tehran Iran strike opens India's options Many believed Trump was hurting India due to a cryptocurrency-linked multimillion-dollar private deal with Pakistan. But the pressure on him was bigger. America's strategic interests are tied to the future of West Asia. And Pakistan was an important cog in the American machinery built to crush Iran — a highly intelligent Islamic regional power with nuclear ambitions. In retrospect, India has managed to stay at a safe distance from what may be one of the most consequential wars since World War II. Trump, ironically, made that easier by distancing India from the American position. His anti-India rhetoric will help New Delhi avoid being tarred by association in the attack against Iran — a country with civilisational ties to India. Isfahan, one of the bombed regions, and Varanasi are considered among the oldest cities on the planet. Iran may not have actively supported India on many issues, but it has never acted against Indian interests. India and Iran have long-standing gas deals, steady trade relations, and people-to-people connections. On the other hand, Trump's 'strong embrace' of Pakistan may prove to be the kiss of death for Field Marshal Asim Munir. It's now proven that Pakistan succumbed to US pressure and allowed the use of the Quetta airbase in Balochistan for American refuelling operations. The world can now see that Trump extracted far more from Munir in exchange for a photo-op lunch at the White House. Also read: Modi's 'no' to Trump isn't about peace or Pakistan. It's narrative warfare Pakistan trades bases for favour Remember, this war is not a sectarian Muslim conflict like the Iran-Iraq war, nor a regional Shia-Sunni confrontation. One cannot rush to call it a 'clash of civilisations' yet — but it's certainly not a narrow, standalone mission like the US operation to kill Osama bin Laden. There's hardly any doubt that Trump represents the politics of White Christian supremacy. When Trump's America attacks Iran, it's not merely attacking a Shia Muslim nation. That's precisely why Pakistan's decision to succumb and work so decisively and actively with the US against a fellow Islamic country will hurt Munir and his cronies. This explains PM Modi's first tweet after the American bombing of Iran's nuclear sites. He mentioned his conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, saying he expressed 'deep concern at the recent escalations' and reiterated that 'immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy [are] the way forward.' This stance shifts the long-term narrative shaped by Operation Sindoor, and challenges everything Trump said and did to hyphenate India and Pakistan. Pakistan's recent letter to the Nobel Peace Prize committee nominating Trump for his supposed 'diplomatic intervention' in the India-Pakistan conflict will now haunt Islamabad. That move now seems like a poor joke, especially compared to Pakistan's involvement in the unfolding US-Israel war against Iran. Munir's actions will have major repercussions domestically within Pakistan as well. Also read: Trump's seduction of Asim Munir won't get him cheap labour to uphold American Peace War could hit Indian economy Meanwhile, the ongoing crisis will have several serious effects on India, particularly on its economy. According to a senior source in the Modi government: 'Our calculations will be based on how Iran is likely to react.' The US has around 19 military installations in and around West Asia. If Iran retaliates against any of them, the trajectory of this war will drastically change. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on X that the US strikes 'will have everlasting consequences.' He has said that UN member states 'must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour.' India will feel the impact of any Iranian retaliation. The Gulf region, home to nearly 10 million Indian workers, residents, and businesses, is already on edge. There will be immediate effects on oil and gas prices. Saudi Arabia and other producers will also use this situation to advance their commercial interests. One of the deeper economic impacts will come from the likely closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. India receives two-thirds of its oil and half of its gas through the Strait of Hormuz. Any disruption there will drive up fuel prices in India's domestic market and affect GDP growth. Indian policymakers are closely watching the chronology of recent events. Also read: Why Fordow, Natanz & Isfahan facilities struck by US are critical to Iran's nuclear ambitions Israel tightens regional grip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shocked the world with how rapidly he regained control in the region. On 7 October 2023, about 3,000 Hamas members launched a surprise attack on unprepared Israeli civilians, killing over 1,200 people. Netanyahu was initially on the back foot. In retaliation, Israel dismantled Hamas leadership, brought Gaza under full control, and even blocked shipments of dates during Ramadan, claiming the seeds could be used against Israeli forces. From behind the scenes, Israel ensured the fall of Hafez Assad regime in Syria. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis were partly attacked by the US. But nothing gave Netanyahu more control over the region than the US-led attack on Iran. According to regional experts, Israel completed 70–80 per cent of the job in the ten days before, and the US entered on Sunday to finish the rest. The Indian government sees this chronology as a game-changer. India's assessment is that Iran is unlikely to accept defeat quietly. At this moment, the safety of Indians in the Gulf region and the economic impact of the war are New Delhi's top priorities. A serious challenge now lies ahead for India, as America enters a war unfolding in a region uncomfortably close to the Indian subcontinent. Sheela Bhatt is a Delhi-based senior journalist. She tweets @sheela2010. Views are personal. (Edited by Prashant)
