New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on the fast-evolving situation in Iran, with the discussions covering a wide spectrum of issues, including concerns over potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, panel chairperson Shashi Tharoor said.
Describing the interaction as wide-ranging, Tharoor said the members of the panel used the opportunity to press the government on critical issues.
“It was a very good briefing with the foreign secretary on all the issues to deal with the Iran war that were not covered in the earlier briefing when he was himself not present. This time he gave us a comprehensive view. There were a lot of questions asked,” Tharoor told the media.
The Congress MP said 17 members attended the discussions and all of them had very serious questions for the foreign secretary.
“But we do want to particularly say on record one of the things that many members expressed — a very high appreciation for the diligent, hard-working and courageous work of our embassy in Tehran and our diplomatic force throughout the Gulf. It has been remarkable to see how much has been done by our people,” he said.
“Our diplomats, the military wing in the Tehran embassy, everyone has been doing a terrific job and I think the country owes them all a debt of gratitude,” Tharoor, who himself is a former diplomat, said.
He added that India’s relationship with “every single significant country in the region and beyond” was discussed and “larger questions of strategy, energy security, geopolitics, Pakistan’s role” were also asked.
Asked if there were discussions on the situation at the Strait of Hormuz, the former Union minister said, “Everything was discussed, very much, that is a major subject.” “The committee has felt very much that we are taken into confidence in the right sort of way and I think that we in turn want to be constructive in our criticisms, questions and challenges to the government for ourselves as parliamentarians to represent the voice of the people of India. It has been a good exercise but we all agree that this is not something we need to talk about publicly,” he added. PTI AO RC
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