Priti Patel Supports India's Right to Defend, Accuses Pakistan of Hiding Osama Bin Laden

Conservative Party MP Priti Patel of the UK stated that she fully agreed with India having the right to defend itself by taking proportionate and necessary measures against terrorism. She further asserted that India is right to destroy the terror infrastructure, which has caused so many lives to be lost and continues to pose a threat.

Patel also criticized Pakistan for being the creator of terrorism that not only threatens India but also Western interests.

Patel's remarks came after India's Operation Sindoor on Wednesday morning, which targeted nine high-profile terror locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as a retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent civilians.

Addressing the House of Commons, Patel offered condolences to the victims of the ghastly Pahalgam attack. "It was an act of terrorism, and we have to ponder the fact that Pahalgam has joined the ranks of places such as Mumbai and New Delhi that have been permanently marred by terrorism," she said.

Patel also described the attack in further detail, pointing out the vicious manner of the killings. "On April 22, terrorists killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam in a brutal and barbaric attack. The majority of the victims were shot in the head at point-blank range," she said.

She then referred to the danger from Pakistan-based terrorists, pointing out that the nation had previously hosted Osama bin Laden and remains a hotbed of violent extremism. "Pakistan-based terrorists present a direct threat to India and Western interests. This is the same nation that hosted Osama bin Laden, and due to this long-standing problem, the UK has signed security cooperation agreements with India," Patel said.

Patel called on the UK government to make a greater effort in combating international terrorism by cooperating with its allies. "The British Government ought to be taking the lead in coordinating with our allies to counter the global dangers that we are all facing," she stated.

She then addressed the UK's involvement in supporting India after the Pahalgam attack, wondering if the British government had extended any assistance. While the Minister cannot discuss intelligence-sharing between the UK and India, can he tell us if our intelligence services have spoken with India about the attack? Has the UK made any specific security assistance available to India in response to the attack, and can Britain play any role to avert escalation?"

Patel asked.

Patel also questioned The Resistance Front (TRF), the terrorist organization that took credit for the attack, and its connections to the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has a bad history of perpetrating attacks against India. "Does the Minister concur with India's judgment that The Resistance Front is an interface to Lashkar-e-Taiba and does he confirm reports of their association with Hamas?" Patel asked.

She also asked confirmation on whether any cooperation between Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba was known to the UK government. "Can the Minister confirm if there are any known connections between Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba?".

Patel demanded that the government be clear on whether it had evaluated the scope of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and if there had been any talks with the government of Pakistan over the matter. "Have Ministers made an assessment of the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan? Has there been any dialogue with Pakistan on this matter?" she asked. She also raised concerns about UK aid to Pakistan, asking, "Can Ministers assure us that no British aid, bilateral or multilateral, is ending up in the wrong hands?" Patel called for the UK government to deliver an analysis of the attack and the people behind it.