‘There cannot be any dialogue till..’: Tharoor Clears India’s Stance Against Pakistan

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation, said that there cannot be any dialogue with Pakistan till it dismantles terror operators constructed in its country. He added that India understands that disputes must be settled through dialogue, but it does not believe in dialogue with a gun pointed towards its forehead.

Tharoor said this during a discussion with thought leaders at the Columbia Council for International Relations.  

“While we understand that disputes must be settled through dialogue, we do not believe in dialogue with a gun pointed towards our forehead. When Pakistan, which has used terrorism as an instrument of state policy, actually decides to dismantle terror operators constructed in its country, then we can talk about dialogue. Till then, I am sorry we are not ready to talk to these people,” ANI quoted Tharoor as saying.

Tharoor termed the Pahalgam terror attack a “murderous rampage” in which terrorists killed innocent tourists who were holidaying in a peaceful part of Kashmir. He added that India’s response was a clear and strong message, as only terrorist infrastructures were targeted and civilians were avoided.

“On April 22, we had a terror attack in Pahalgam, and it was a murderous rampage because what they did was not only to attack and kill innocent tourists on a holiday in a peaceful part of Kashmir. At the time when Kashmir was growing and prospering, our tourism doubled compared to previous years; they came and did this, and the livelihood of Kashmiris was affected. And also to create a battle in India because the killers asked the religion of each person before shooting them dead.. The Indian Government launched the retaliatory action, Operation Sindoor… We gave a very strong message as we struck nine known terrorist headquarters, launch pads, and bases in Pakistan. It was a very carefully calibrated and executed operation to convey the message, as we did not hit any civilian area there but only targeted known terrorist infrastructures,” Tharoor said.

Tharoor and his team arrived in Colombia on Thursday after visiting Panama and Guyana as part of the Indian government’s initiative to demonstrate India’s zero tolerance for terrorism. The delegation will travel to Brazil and the United States on Saturday following the conclusion of their visit to Colombia.

The Indian Government on May 17 announced that seven all-party delegations would visit key partner nations, including members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to project the country’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

This was in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in which 26 innocent people were killed.

In retaliation, Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor during the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and killing over 100 terrorists.