India wants progress; Pakistan wants to pull us down": All-party delegation member John Brittas in Tokyo

Tokyo [Japan], May 24 (ANI): Communist Party of India-Marxist MP John Brittas, who is part of the multi-party delegation to Japan, on Saturday called Pakistan a "theocratic state", and criticised it for terrorist activities in an attempt to "pull India down."
During an interaction with the Indian Community in Tokyo, Brittas said, "India is a democratic country. Whereas Pakistan is a theocratic state. India wants to progress, and that is why Pakistan wants to pull us down. That is why all the terrorist activities take place."
Highlighting the different political allegiances of members of the delegation. Brittas emphasised the unity of all the parties in condemning terrorism and prioritising national interest.
"We are all from 5 different political parties, 3 of which are completely opposed to the ruling party, but we have all come here with a sense of purpose... We give priority to national interest," he said.

Slamming Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir on his promotion as Field Marshal, Brittas suggested that it is the Pakistani Army that controls the nation.
"Pakistani military leader Asim Munir has recently declared himself a Field Marshal... He is the second Field Marshal after Ayub Khan... All countries have an army, whereas the army (Pakistani army) has a nation."
John Brittas also listed the objective of all party delegations, "The first objective of this visit is to demonstrate the unity and resolve of India. The second objective is to sensitize the international community about the threat called terrorism, which no country can fight alone. We all have to join hands to fight this virus. We hope Japan will understand this... India's resolve is to ensure that all countries join the fight against terrorism, which will be detrimental to the progress of not only India but all countries," he said.
CPI (M) MP John Brittas is part of the Sanjay Kumar Jha-led delegation, which is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism.
The other members of the delegation are BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, former MEA Salman Khurshid, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar
Earlier, the delegation held a meeting with Japan's Former Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Shinako Tsuchiya, Director General of the International Bureau, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). (ANI)