On Tuesday, PM Modi had hosted members of the multi-party delegations, comprising parliamentarians and former diplomats, who travelled to various world capitals over the past few weeks to convey India’s message on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.While the government and the leaders who were part of this mission hailed this diplomacy initiative, Congress called the move “just a formality” aimed at creating an illusion of political unity.Congress MP Tariq Anwar said, “This was only a formality to show that all parties are united, which is far from the truth. There was no substantial outcome. After the delegation returned, a report was submitted to the Prime Minister, but no clear achievement was mentioned.”“Our objective was to isolate Pakistan on the global stage and expose its role in terrorism. But that mission was not fulfilled. Ironically, Pakistan still enjoys substantial international support — it has been made co-chair in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and chairs a US-formed committee to monitor the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan also got funds from the World Bank and other global institutions like the IMF,” the Congress MP said.“We sent this delegation with the hope of creating international pressure on Pakistan, but nothing has changed. The exercise turned out to be ceremonial rather than strategic,” he told news agency IANS.‘Pakistan a phenomenal partner in counter-terrorism’The Congress also reacted strongly to the remarks of US Army General Michael Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) who said that the United States has to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India, and noted that it cannot be a “binary switch” where Washington cannot have ties with Islamabad if it has relations with New Delhi.Kurilla made the comments during a testimony before the US House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.In his remarks, Kurilla said, “We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has. ISIS Khorasan (ISIS K) is perhaps one of the most active in trying to do external plots globally to include against the homeland. The Taliban is going after ISIS K – they hate each other, and have pushed a lot of them into the tribal areas on the Afghan-Pakistan border.” “Through a phenomenal partnership with Pakistan, they have gone after ISIS Khorasan, killing dozens of them. Through a relationship we have with them providing intelligence, they have captured at least five ISIS Khorasan high value individuals,” the top US general said.Sharing a media report on Kurilla’s remarks, Jairam Ramesh said, “The US Central Command Chief has just described Pakistan as a ‘phenomenal partner in counter-terrorism’.” “What do our PM and his cheerleaders have to say about this? Is this not a diplomatic setback?” Ramesh said on X.In another post, Ramesh shared a media report which claimed that Pakistan’s chief of army staff General Syed Asim Munir is scheduled to visit Washington DC, for the US Army Day celebrations on June 14.“This is the man who spoke in such incendiary and provocative language just before the Pahalgam terror attacks. What is the US really up to? This is another huge diplomatic setback for India,” Ramesh said.(With inputs from agencies)