‘Disappointed’: Tharoor, after Colombia condoles Pak deaths in Op Sindoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday (May 29) expressed disappointment with Colombia’s statement extending condolences for deaths in Pakistan after Indian strikes on terror camps, and said “there can be no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who resist them, between those who attack and those who defend”.

An all-party parliamentary delegation led by Shashi Tharoor arrived in Colombia on Thursday to convey India's strong resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms.

‘Disappointed’

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "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 said he had the impression that the Colombian government had perhaps not fully understood the situation when it made the statement.

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He continued, “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.”

The Congress MP said India has really been a force for constructive progress in the world. He hoped that other governments would tell those who give safe haven and protection to terrorists to stop doing so. He said that would be very helpful indeed, both in the UN Security Council or outside it.

‘Our right of self-defence’

Tharoor 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.

‘Concrete proof’

“We have, as I said, very concrete proof. In fact, when this terrorist attack occurred, it was immediately claimed by an organisation called The Resistance Front, which is a unit of the Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Muridke, Pakistan... 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," continued Shashi Tharoor.

He said the world rose up to condemn the terrorist attack, but that was as far as it went.

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“There was no action taken, not even by the country where these people had emerged from - Pakistan. Nobody was arrested, and there was no attempt at any prosecution. India decided that this kind of outrage could not go unpunished," he said.

‘If they stop, we stop’

Tharoor highlighted the fact that there was even a well-publicised funeral of one of the terrorists on the sanctions list, and it was attended by uniformed senior military and police personnel from Pakistan.

“That is the extent of complicity that we are seeing between the terrorists who perpetrate crimes of this nature and those who finance, guide, train, arm and equip them and do provide them safe haven to continue their training and their other awful deeds," said the Congress MP.

“We are not interested in war. We were just conducting retribution for a terrorist attack. If they stop, we stop. We are not the belligerent power in this particular equation."

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Seven delegations

The group of Indian MPs in Colombia is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead.

The delegation, which arrived in Bogota from Panama, includes Shashi Tharoor (Congress), 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 ambassador of India to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

India's Ambassador to Colombia Vanlalhuma warmly welcomed the delegation, marking the start of a meaningful engagement to convey India’s resolute stance against terrorism, the Embassy of India in Colombia said in a post on X.

Operation Sindoor

India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

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The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.