India, Pakistan send rival delegations abroad following Operation Sindoor

May 18, 2025 by News Desk

In a sharp escalation of diplomatic maneuvering following the recent military flare-up triggered by the Pahalgam attack and India’s Operation Sindoor, both New Delhi and Islamabad have announced high-level diplomatic missions to world capitals in an effort to shape international opinion.

Just hours after India revealed plans to dispatch seven all-party delegations to key global partners, Pakistan responded with its own announcement — a high-powered diplomatic delegation led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be sent to “expose Indian propaganda” and advocate for Pakistan’s version of events on the international stage.

India’s move, coordinated by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, is unprecedented in scope and tone.

The delegations, which include representatives from across the political spectrum — including Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, and DMK’s Kanimozhi — will travel to major global capitals including Washington, London, Paris, Moscow, and Brussels starting later this month.

The outreach aims to underline India’s “zero-tolerance policy on terrorism,” particularly in light of the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, targeted alleged terror infrastructure across the Line of Control. Indian authorities say it was a precise and proportionate response to the bloodshed in Pahalgam.

New Delhi has framed the operation not just as an act of self-defense, but as part of a broader strategy to delegitimize state-sponsored terrorism. The delegations will reportedly present evidence of cross-border militancy and attempt to garner support for isolating Pakistan diplomatically on the terrorism issue.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced the formation of a special diplomatic mission to visit key capitals and “present Pakistan’s case for peace.”

The announcement followed a phone call between Shehbaz and PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who accepted the request to lead the delegation. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Bilawal wrote: “I am honoured to accept this responsibility and remain committed to serving Pakistan in these challenging times.”

The delegation includes a cross-section of Pakistan’s political and diplomatic elite — Energy Minister Musadik Malik, PML-N leader Khurram Dastgir Khan, Senator Sherry Rehman, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, MQM’s Faisal Subzwari, and seasoned diplomats Tehmina Janjua and Jalil Abbas Jilani.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that the team will soon visit the US, UK, France, Russia, and Brussels, aiming to highlight what Islamabad claims are India’s escalatory tactics and to project Pakistan’s “sincere efforts for peace and regional stability.”

As the two nuclear-armed neighbours take their rivalry to international forums, analysts caution that the coming weeks will test not just the resilience of the fragile ceasefire, but also the global appetite to engage in yet another round of the India-Pakistan dispute.