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‘If they hit us again…’: Shashi Tharoor's fresh warning to Pakistan
“If they (Pakistan) hit us again, they’re going to get it back worse,” Shashi Tharoor said in Guyana.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor issued a stern warning to Pakistan saying that India would retaliate strongly to any provocation. Tharoor, at a diplomatic forum in Guyana, clarified that India strongly believes in peace and the recent strikes against terror camps in Pakistan were purely retaliatory. He said that India did not want war.
Tharoor stated that Operation Sindoor, under which India destroyed 9 terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, were a response to the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam and not the beginning of a larger military campaign.
“We had no desire to convey that it was the opening salvo in what was meant to be a sort of protracted war,” Tharoor said. “Each strike was retaliatory, each action taken by India was only in response to Pakistan.”
Tharoor highlighted India’s consistent diplomatic outreach during the operation, underscoring that New Delhi repeatedly assured global partners of its intent to avoid war. “When governments called us to express concern, we conveyed exactly this message throughout, which is that we are not interested in war,” he noted.
He further stated that India’s military actions were rooted in a principle of deterrence, not aggression, and reiterated that a cessation of hostilities by Pakistan would eliminate the need for further retaliation. “If Pakistan stops, we will have no reason to retaliate, and that is, in the end, what happened on the morning of the 10th of May, Indian time, they reached out to our Director General of Military Operations.”
The outreach from Islamabad, which reportedly initiated backchannel communication seeking de-escalation, marked a turning point, according to Tharoor.
Operation Sindoor
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, saw Indian forces carry out targeted strikes against terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The mission was “focused, measured and non-escalatory,” aimed solely at dismantling terror networks such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Shashi Tharoor's warning
Reaffirming India’s commitment to peace, Tharoor declared, “We are at peace today, and we want to remain at peace. That’s also a very strong message, but we want to remain in peace with strength, as your President said yesterday, not out of fear.”
However, he issued a clear warning that India would not hesitate to respond forcefully if provoked again. “We are not afraid that these people would hit us again. If they hit us again, they’re going to get it back worse,” he said.
India's diplomatic outreach
The all-party parliamentary delegation led by Shashi Tharoor will visit Panama from Tuesday to convey India's strong message of zero-tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
During the three-day visit, the delegation will interact with Panamanian leadership and key interlocutors from the media, strategic community, Indian community and diaspora, and friends of India in Panama, the Embassy of India in Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica posted on X.
It will underline India's strong message of unity and brotherhood as well as India's collective resolve to fight against the scourge of terrorism, it said.
The delegation members include Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Gants Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), and India’s former Ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu.
