New Delhi [India], May 24 : Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has said that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism caused the migration of people and industries from Punjab, weakening the State economically.
Aujla, who represents Amritsar constituency in Lok Sabha, said that he told the multi-party delegations about how Punjab has suffered due to the cross-border terrorism since the late 1980s, so that they can present these facts to the global community.
"I made a memorandum and I have tried to meet the chairpersons of all the delegations (going to various countries) to tell them how much the country, especially Punjab, is affected by terrorism. I met Shashi Tharoor and spoke to him in detail...Punjab has suffered the most because of terrorism," Aujla told ANI.
He further said that Pakistan flooding Punjab with drugs resulted in large number of narcotic consumption deaths.
"When peace prevailed in the state, they (Pakistan) introduced drugs in Punjab...they sent so many drugs that more than 1 lakh people died in terrorist activities. This is a silent genocide. Industry and people migrated due to this. We were weakened economically. This is due to Pakistan. In order to disturb India, they are disturbing Punjab," he said.
Congress MP Manish Tewari, who is part of an all-party delegation led by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, on Saturday said he will expose Pakistan's conspiracy to train terrorists and send them across the border to spread terrorism in India.
Tewari will be visiting Qatar, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
"For the last 45 years, Pakistan has been promoting terrorism against India. We all are going to different countries and exposing the conspiracy of Pakistan to train terrorists, give them weapons and send them across the border to spread terrorism here," Tewari told ANI.
Multiple delegations were briefed by the Foreign Secretary before going to various countries. Certain delegations have already met with representatives of various countries. Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde, who is leading one of the delegations, held a press conference in the United Arab Emirates, calling for international solidarity in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
The delegations will highlight that cross-border terrorism from Pakistan continues to be a major disruptor for India while presenting the Indian doctrine of zero tolerance of terror.
India is sending these delegations following the Operation Sindoor, which was launched to retaliate against the Pahalgam attack.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, targeting terror bases in Pakistan in retaliation for the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which killed 26 people.
The operation targeted terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, eliminating over 100 terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.