Did Panama's President Support India's Anti-Terrorism Efforts?

Panama City, May 28 (NationPress) Jose Raul Mulino Quintero, the President of Panama and a representative of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has voiced his support for India's battle against terrorism, as stated by Congress MP Sashi Tharoor following a meeting with a parliamentary delegation.

During their 'constructive and productive' discussion at the Presidential Palace, Mulino acknowledged and endorsed India's efforts against terrorism, Tharoor, who led the delegation, mentioned in a post on X on Wednesday (local time).

Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha Vasquez, who hosted a luncheon for the delegation, was present alongside the President and several senior officials.

Martinez-Acha expressed Panama's comprehensive understanding and support regarding terrorism for India, as noted by Taranjit Singh Sandhu, a former ambassador to the US accompanying the group, in an X post.

They were joined by Vice-Minister Carlos Hoyos, along with two members of Panama's National Assembly, which Tharoor remarked was 'a tribute to the regard in which India is held here'.

During the meeting, Tharoor shared images of Pakistani officials at the funeral of Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a senior figure in Lashkar-e-Taiba and designated a terrorist by the United Nations Sanctions Committee.

'This is clear evidence of official complicity' of Pakistan with terrorism, he conveyed.

Notable attendees of the funerals of Rauf and other terrorists killed in the Operation Sindoor strikes on terrorist hubs included high-ranking military officials from Pakistan, such as Lt Gen Fayyaz Hussain Shah and Maj Gen Rao Imran, as well as Punjab Police Inspector General Usman Anwar.

The parliamentary delegation was on a mission to this significant Central American nation, an elected member of the UNSC, to articulate India's zero-tolerance policy for terrorism following the religiously motivated massacre of 26 individuals in Pahalgam by Pakistan-linked terrorists.

India initiated Operation Sindoor to target the infrastructure of terrorism within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In retaliation, Islamabad escalated attacks on various targets in India, including temples and gurdwaras, intensifying the conflict.

Representing a wide national consensus on the matter, the delegation featured members from various political parties, including Shambhavi from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Sarfaraz Ahmad from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Milind Murli Deora of the Shiv Sena, and BJP representatives Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya, along with GM Harish Balayogi from the Telugu Desam Party.

The delegation has previously visited New York and Guyana, with upcoming visits planned to Colombia, Brazil, and Washington, aiming to garner support for India against terrorism.