Johannesburg (South Africa), May 28 (ANI): Congress MP Anand Sharma, member of the all-party delegation led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, emphasised India's restrained and targeted response to terrorism.

During an interaction with the Indian community in Johannesburg, Sharma stated that Indian forces targeted only terrorist headquarters, but when Pakistan retaliated by attacking Indian air bases, India had to respond forcefully.

Sharma also highlighted Pakistan's role in harboring terrorists, saying, 'We have the terrorists who had attacked Mumbai. Finally, one of them has been extradited to India. The world knows that Osama bin Laden was found in Abbottabad, Pakistan... Indian security forces and the government had acted with utmost restraint. We had only targeted the headquarters of the terror groups. It was unfortunate that Pakistan did not pay heed; instead of taking action, they attacked Indian air bases, and there had to be a forceful Indian retaliation,' Sharma said.

The all-party Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Supriya Sule, MP, Lok Sabha, commenced the South Africa engagement on May 27, in Johannesburg, with a community interaction, to reiterate India's message against terrorism, as per the release.

Indian delegation conveyed India's zero-tolerance policy towards cross-border terrorism. The delegation shared that Operation Sindoor, conducted by Indian in response, was calibrated, targeted and proportionate, demonstrating India's commitment to countering terrorism without escalating tensions. They emphasised the need to stop differentiating the terrorists and their backers and dismantle the cross-border terrorism infrastructure, developed and used against India for several decades.

The members of the delegation are Members of Parliament Supriya Sule, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna devarayalu, Anand Sharma, former Minister of Commerce & Industry, V Muraleedharan, Former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Syed Akbaruddin, Former Permanent. Representative of India to the UN.

On Wednesday, the delegation will visit Cape Town for meetings in the South African Parliament and with South Africa's Ministers of Government. (ANI)