A multi-party Indian parliamentary delegation led by Supriya Sule, Member of Parliament, concluded its official visit to Qatar. The visit marked the first leg of a four-nation tour undertaken in the wake of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam and India’s subsequent response, Operation Sindoor.
During their two-day visit, the delegation held high-level discussions with senior Qatari officials, including Dr. Mohamed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Sheikh A Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of State for Interior Affairs; and Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti, Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council. The delegation also engaged with members of Qatar’s academia and think tanks at the Middle East Council for Global Affairs, interacted with journalists from leading Qatari dailies Al Sharq and Peninsula, and addressed members of the Indian community at a reception held on May 26.
In their meetings, the Indian delegation conveyed New Delhi’s zero-tolerance policy towards cross-border terrorism and provided a briefing on recent developments following the Pahalgam attack. They emphasised that Operation Sindoor was a calibrated, targeted and proportionate response, reflecting India’s firm resolve to counter terrorism without escalating tensions. The delegation also stressed the need to dismantle cross-border terror infrastructure and to avoid making distinctions between terrorist groups and their backers.
Qatari officials reiterated their own zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and expressed strong condemnation of the Pahalgam attack. The Indian side welcomed Qatar’s support and acknowledged the official statement issued by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 23 condemning the attack. The visit also follows recent high-level exchanges, including a telephone conversation between the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 6. Additionally, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al-Thani, spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on May 7.
Speaking to the media in Doha, the delegation briefed journalists on the outcomes of their meetings and addressed questions regarding the broader security and diplomatic implications of the recent developments. Addressing the Indian diaspora, delegation members lauded the community’s efforts in upholding the values of tolerance, pluralism and unity, and for resisting divisive narratives.
In addition to Supriya Sule, the delegation includes MPs Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur and Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, as well as former Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, former Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, and former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin.The delegation will depart for South Africa on May 27 for the second leg of its tour.
