Our Bureau
London
Priti Patel, the former Home Secretary of the United Kingdom and the current Member of Parliament has raised her voice against the gruesome acts of violence that scarred the Pahalgam. Speaking in the House of Commons in the UK, Ms. Patel shared her condolences with India and the family of the victims and reminded them of the history of the terror attacks in India.
Ms. Patel addressed the house after India had successfully carried out Operation Sindoor, attacking nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). She has supported India in its retaliation to these terror attacks calling it their right to defend their nation.
While addressing the situation she said, “We’re also clear that India has the right to take reasonable and proportionate steps to defend itself and to dismantle the vile terrorist infrastructure that has caused death and continues to threaten them. And we know that terrorists based in Pakistan threaten India and Western interests.”
She also reminded the government of the long-standing security cooperation agreements that it has with India and has urged the government to take steps in strengthening it. Ms. Patel flagged the issue that Pakistan has had a long history of harbouring terrorists in their country who have scarred India on multiple occasions.
She said, “It was the country that Osama bin Laden was hiding in. And because of the long history of violence inflicted by terrorists on India, the UK has in place long-standing security cooperation agreements with India. And in fact, last weekend, this House reminded the government of those long-standing security agreements, why they exist and why they should matter to us here in the UK.”
Ms. Patel, the current Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, has called for more involvement of the UK government and has urged the Labour Party to work with allies to counter terrorism on a global scale. Along with that, she has also questioned the government on what actions they have taken to help out India and provide them aid on the security front.
She asked the Minister, “While I know the Minister will not be able to speak about intelligence sharing between the UK and India, can he at least confirm whether our intelligence and security services have been in contact with India about the incidents that took place and are supporting their investigations? Has the government provided any specific security assistance to India in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Kashmir? Could Britain offer specific support that might help avert escalation?”
