Operation Sindoor outreach delegations' briefing focuses on Pak's 'victim card', China's changed stand

According to reports, the briefing has focused on the US claims on the ceasefire and China's changed stance.

The three delegations, which were briefed on Tuesday, will be led by Sanjay Jha, Kanimozhi, and Srikant Shinde. Another four will be briefed on Wednesday. 

The first of the seven teams starts on Wednesday.

The delegations will be led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP). They are scheduled to visit 32 countries and the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

NDTV, citing sources, said the delegations were told that it was Islamabad that had initiated contact with Delhi for a ceasefire on May 10.

The DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) had called around 11 am, but the hotline was not working. Then, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi sent a message that the DGMO wanted to talk, reports said.

Contact was made then, but conversation could not take place even by 12.30 pm since the Indian DGMO was in a meeting, NDTV's sources revealed.

The talks finally took place around 3:30 pm, during which a ceasefire was agreed upon.

"The talk of US President Donald Trump's mediation is not correct because the initiative was taken by Pakistan itself... Back-channel talks keep happening with many countries," the source told NDTV.

Regarding Pakistan, the briefing said the neighbouring country "tries to play the victim card on such occasions, but India will not let this happen," the source said.

India's side will be strongly presented and Pakistan will be exposed on the issue of terrorism, he added.

The delegations were also informed that China's attitude turned out to be positive. China has expressed regret instead of condemning India's action, which comprises a major change in its stance.

These teams will visit permanent or temporary members of the United Nations Security Council -- current as well as future.

They will meet current and former Prime Ministers, foreign ministers, MPs, opposition leaders, intellectuals, journalists, and expat Indians in these countries.

The Narendra Modi government has taken this initiative following Operation Sindoor, and the names of participants, across party lines, were announced late last week.

Operation Sindoor was a fierce military operation launched by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists who were enjoying their vacation at Baisaran Valley, which is referred to as India's Switzerland.

The operation aimed to dismantle terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

After the Pakistan Army again targeted Indian civilians and resorted to cross-border firing, the Indian Armed Forces retaliated, destroying defence systems of the hostile neighbour.