Berlin, June 6: Christian Echle, Head of the Department of Asia and the Pacific at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, expressed strong solidarity with India following the Pahalgam terror attack, calling the incident “a deep shock” and praising India’s measured response.
Speaking to ANI, Echle said, “It was devastating to see the way in which the attack was executed. There is a deep solidarity with the Indian people from our side. There was also concern that this would spread into a violent conflict. The response was well adjusted. We hope that we will also find peaceful ways to solve this conflict.”
Echle’s remarks came during a meeting with an Indian all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, currently on a Europe tour aimed at rallying global opinion against cross-border terrorism and exploring avenues for strategic cooperation.
“It was a very open and good interaction. We discussed several topics — the recent terrorist attack was a very important and relevant topic. We also talked about the potential for cooperation between India and Germany — how it has grown over the last few years,” Echle added.
The visit is part of India’s broader diplomatic campaign following Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where Pakistan-sponsored militants killed 26 civilians and injured several more. The operation involved targeted strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), resulting in the elimination of over 100 terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
The Indian delegation includes MPs from multiple parties: Daggubati Purandeswari, MJ Akbar, Gulam Ali Khatana, and Samik Bhattacharya from the BJP; Amar Singh from Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi from Shiv Sena (UBT); M Thambidurai from AIADMK, and former diplomat Pankaj Saran.
Before arriving in Germany, the delegation visited Brussels, where Ravi Shankar Prasad raised strong concerns over Pakistan’s alleged military-terrorist nexus. “Pakistan is being run by a military-terrorist coalition. It’s a threat to democracy and humanity,” he had stated in Brussels.
India’s outreach aims to build international pressure on Pakistan over its support for terrorism and to promote long-term partnerships, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism and strategic security.
