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Delegation meets EU representatives in Belgium, conveys India’s firm resolve against terrorism

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Brussels, June 5: The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation from India, led by senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, held a series of high-level engagements in Belgium with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), emphasising India’s resolute stance against cross-border terrorism.

The delegation visited the European Parliament and met with MEPs from the Delegation for Relations with India, the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), and the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE).

During the meetings, the Indian team provided a detailed briefing on the persistent issue of cross-border terrorism targeting India, particularly highlighting the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and India’s measured and strategic response through Operation Sindoor.

The discussions at the Parliament also revolved around strengthening India-EU strategic cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts, while broader themes such as high-level diplomatic engagements and deeper parliamentary exchanges were also addressed.

According to the Indian Embassy, “Taking India’s strong message against terrorism to the world, members of All-Party Delegation met with Members of European Parliament (MEPs) and discussed combating terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, global peace, and deepening of India-EU ties.”

The European Union unequivocally condemned the brutal attack in Pahalgam and expressed solidarity with India.

“The EU side was briefed about the heinous Pahalgam terrorist attack and the calibrated and targeted response of India through Operation Sindoor, giving the message of zero tolerance to terrorism. MEPs expressed their solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack,” the embassy added.

The Indian delegation also engaged with some of Brussels’ prominent think tanks and strategic experts, exchanging views on the global terror landscape and New Delhi’s expectations from the EU in tackling such threats.

These discussions further reinforced shared views on the necessity of a coordinated global response to terrorism.

“During our visit to Brussels, my colleagues from the all-party delegation and I engaged in a comprehensive discussion on the scourge of terrorism, particularly cross-border terrorism targeting India. We deliberated on India’s counter-terrorism initiatives, notably including Operation Sindoor, with prominent think tanks in the region. Our interaction underscored a unified and unambiguous stance of zero tolerance towards terrorism,” Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a post on X.

The nine-member delegation includes a diverse political representation: Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Daggubati Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), Gulam Ali Khatana (BJP), Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), M. Thambidurai (AIADMK), former Union Minister M.J. Akbar, and former Ambassador Pankaj Saran.

Furthermore, the delegates interacted with members of the Indian diaspora who expressed their deep solidarity with the victims of recent terrorist attacks and backed India’s strong and principled stance against terrorism and its zero-tolerance policy.

The Indian parliamentarians underscored the vital role of the diaspora in amplifying India’s voice on the global stage.

On Wednesday, the delegation commenced its programme by paying floral tribute at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Embassy — a solemn reaffirmation of India’s enduring commitment to the principles of peace, non-violence, and universal brotherhood.

After concluding visits to France, Italy, Denmark, and the UK, the Indian delegation is in Belgium as a part of India’s global diplomatic outreach campaign to highlight the significance of Operation Sindoor and the continued fight against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.

International

Man shot in targeted attack in Australian state of Queensland

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Sydney, June 6: A man has been hospitalised with serious injuries following a targeted shooting in the Australian state of Queensland.

The Queensland Police Service said on Friday that emergency services were deployed to a house in Parkwood, 65 kilometres southeast of Brisbane, around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday in response to reports that a man had sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and other injuries to his hand.

According to media, the 21-year-old man was found at the scene with serious injuries and was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

A police statement said that initial inquiries indicated that the incident was a targeted shooting and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.

An investigation into the attack was ongoing and police commenced a search for the perpetrator.

In a separate incident, Australian police are investigating a fatal stabbing in a remote outback mining town west of Sydney.

Emergency services were called to conduct a welfare check at a home in Broken Hill, over 900 kilometers from Sydney in the far west outback of the state of New South Wales (NSW), just after 11:50 p.m. on Thursday.

Police officers arrived at the scene where they found a man, believed to be aged in his 40s, with stab wounds to his neck.

He was treated by ambulance paramedics but could not be revived and was declared deceased.

Local police established a crime scene at the house and have commenced an investigation into the man’s death with assistance from the NSW Homicide Squad.

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Business

EAM Jaishankar lays out three objectives to bolster India-Central Asia trade ties

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New Delhi, June 6: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has urged the India-Central Asia Business Council to recommend a roadmap for further deepening of India-Central Asia ties in trade, economic and investment.

Addressing the Business Council meeting in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar highlighted three broad objectives for strengthening the economic partnership — deepen existing cooperation, diversify the trade basket and introduce sustainability and predictability in economic interactions.

“One, is to deepen the existing cooperation both in terms of volume and in terms of quality. There is already I think a recognition in each others countries and each others economies of the players and of the products. But, we must build further on that foundation and a very good example here is actually the pharmaceutical sector,” he told the gathering.

“Two, we need to diversify our trade baskets so that all of us have more options and we have more competition and in a way we are looking for new opportunities. I would like our friends from central Asian economies to appreciate that an economy today which is in excess of $4 trillion, which is growing at 6-8 per cent annually, it will create new demands for products, for services and even I would say in a way new demands out of more prosperous lifestyles,” EAM Jaishankar emphasised.

He also stressed on the need to introduce greater sustainability and more predictability in economic interactions.

“That means more long-term contracts and arrangements, cross investments, joint ventures and certainly sectors like energy whether we are talking uranium, whether we are talking crude oil even potentially gas, whether we are looking at mining, If you are talking about coal or if you are discussing fertilizers, I think these are all relevant examples to reach really long term understatings between us,” the foreign minister highlighted.

India’s trade and economic ties with Central Asia over the last decade have shown a very strong positive trend. Mutual trade was less than $500 million a decade ago in 2014.

Today, “what we have collectively is actually a trade volume which is almost touching $2 billion. However, this figure does not reflect the full potential. The need to address this is today even more urgent because of the uncertainties of the international economy and this requires governments and businesses to work together in tandem, which is why all of us are here in this room,” EAM Jaishankar noted.

He also laid out five solutions to further bolster the India-Central Asia economic ties: Digital Economy and Innovation, Financial Services, Healthcare and Pharma, improving connectivity and streamlining Transit Procedures.

“In addition to all of this, I think you would agree that tourism, education, films, and cultural exchanges, these are all important, they should be tapped for their economic and business potential,” he mentioned.

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International

Trump signs proclamation banning travel from 12 nations

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Washington, June 5: US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing a travel ban on 12 countries and restricting the entry of seven others to the US, citing national security concerns.

According to the proclamation, the 12 countries that were banned include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Additionally, the order partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals of the following seven countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The announcement of the ban followed a recent violent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, on participants of a peaceful rally calling for the safe return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity.

“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas. We don’t want them,” Trump said in a video statement released by the White House on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, US Homeland Security officials said that the terror attack perpetrator in Colorado, Mohammed Sabry Solima, was allowed entry into the country under the former Biden Administration and overstayed his visa.

The White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson took to social media stating that President Trump is protecting Americans from foreign actors who pose security threats to the country.

“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm. These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information. President Trump will always act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety,” Abigail Jackson said on X.

The recent proclamation echoed a series of travel bans issued during the first term of Trump’s administration to seven majority-Muslim nations from coming to the US.

It included Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The move witnessed legal challenges before President Joe Biden repealed it after he assumed office in 2021.

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