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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading a multi-party delegation across five countries, expressed disappointment on Friday over the Colombian government’s message of condolence for Pakistani casualties following India’s Operation Sindoor. Tharoor insisted that there can be no moral equivalence between terrorists and those defending their nation.
“We were a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which apparently expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathising with the victims of terrorism,” Tharoor told the media in Colombia.
He said, “We will say to our friends in Colombia, there can be no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who resist them. There can be no equivalence between those who attack and those who defend. We are only exercising our right of self-defence, and if there is any misunderstanding here on this core, we are here to dispel any such misunderstanding. We’re very happy to talk to Colombia in some detail about the circumstances.”
Tharoor underscored that India’s actions followed a brutal terror attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, claimed by The Resistance Front — an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) based in Pakistan. “We’re very happy to talk to Colombia in some detail about the circumstances. Just as Colombia has endured many terror attacks, so have we in India. We have endured a very large number of attacks for almost four decades,” he said.
Highlighting the need for international understanding, he added: “We are here looking for understanding… We have the impression that perhaps the situation was not fully understood when that one statement (Colombia extending condolences for deaths in Pakistan after Indian strikes on terror hotbeds) was made. Understanding is extremely important for us. We are a country which has really been a force for constructive progress in the world.”
He also urged other governments to pressure states supporting terrorism. “We certainly hope that other governments will tell those who give safe haven and protection to terrorists to stop doing so. That would be very helpful indeed, as well in the Security Council or outside it,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor dismissed speculation about any US mediation efforts in the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. “We received a number of phone calls from senior United States officials and also from senior officials of other countries. And the message we gave to all these countries was exactly the same. We are not interested in war. We were just doing retribution for a terrorist attack. If they stop, we stop,” he clarified.
He further said: “Certainly there was no sort of active process of mediation that we are aware of. Certainly nothing involving us, because we never intended to begin with from the very first day when the anti-terror strikes took place on the night of May 7. We are not the belligerent power in this particular equation.”
What is Shashi Tharoor’s delegation aiming to achieve in Colombia?
Tharoor’s delegation, part of India’s global outreach to highlight the country’s fight against terrorism, arrived in Colombia on Thursday after visiting Panama and Guyana. The group will engage with Members of Congress and ministers during their stay in Bogota.
The delegation includes MPs Sarfraz Ahmad (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), GM Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), and former Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
Tharoor also drew attention to Pakistan’s military ties with China. “China supplies 81 per cent of all Pakistani defence equipment,” he said, while also mentioning the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “Defence is a polite word, Pakistani military equipment. Much of it is not for defence but for attack. Our quarrel is with the perpetration of terror against us,” he added.
What triggered Operation Sindoor and how did Pakistan respond?
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. Pakistan retaliated with attempts to strike Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The conflict de-escalated following a mutual understanding to halt hostilities after talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
