In Panama, Shashi Tharoor's ‘no doubt’ warning to Pakistan, terrorists; clears India's stance

Shashi Tharoor firmly asserted that terrorists will have to pay a price for the acts they carry out, adding that there should be no doubt about it.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading one of the all-party delegations on Operation Sindoor global outreach mission, has asserted in Panama City that though the leaders come from different political backgrounds, they all stand "united in national purpose".

The Shashi Tharoor-led all-party delegation held a meeting with Panama assembly president and some select parliamentarians of the country. (X/@ShashiTharoor)

Addressing the Panama assembly President Dana Castaneda and some select parliamentarians, Shashi Tharoor asserted that India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 only after it waited to see whether the Pakistani government would take any action against the perpetrators of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

"When nothing was clearly being done, two weeks later, on the 7th of May, we attacked the known headquarters of terrorist bases inside Pakistan. We had no interest in starting a war, but we felt that a terrorist act must not go unpunished," he added.

Explaining the coming together of leaders cutting across party lines for this global outreach programme to promote India's stance on terrorism, the Congress MP said, "We all come from different political backgrounds and different parts of India, but we are united in national purpose."

Shashi Tharoor expressed that, unfortunately, it does not seem like the problem of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is over yet. "And if there is another terrorist incident tomorrow, we believe that we will not have to come back here; we will have your understanding in advance," he added.

Shashi Tharoor's appeal to Panama

Shashi Tharoor appealed to Panama to help India put pressure on the perpetrators to actually identify and prosecute the criminals.

Speaking at the Indian embassy in the country, Tharoor said, "It is just not acceptable for us to continue to bear the pain, the grief, the wounds, the losses and then merely go and tell the international community, look what is happening to us. Please help us. Please put pressure on the perpetrators to actually identify and prosecute the criminals."

The Congress MP also noted how India has had to suffer attack after attack for almost four decades. Right from the first attacks in Kashmir in 1989, the nation has witnessed repeated outrageous civilian victims in these attacks.

Not going to give Kashmir to Pakistan

Shashi Tharoor noted that terrorists and Pakistan have repeatedly chosen to attack India due to their belief that they want the territory (Kashmir) that New Delhi governs.

"Unfortunately, our desire to just be left alone is not reciprocated by our friends on the other side of the border. They have chosen repeatedly to attack us because they believe that they want territory which they do not control, which we control," he said.

The Congress MP added, "It is part of the sovereign borders of the United Indian, and we are not going to give it to them even if we have to pay the price that we have repeatedly been paid."

'Let there be no doubt': Tharoor warns terrorists

Warning terrorists that they will have to pay a price for the attacks that they carry out, Tharoor said, "let there be no doubt".

He cited the Indian armed forces' decision to breach the Line of Control and even the international border during Operation Sindoor to highlight the nation's firm resolve against terrorism.

The Congress MP said that India breached LoC during the surgical strike on a terror base, the Uri strike in September 2015, and during the 2019 Pulwama attack. He said that this was something, crossing LoC, that India did not do even during the Kargil War.

"This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places," Tharoor noted.

Panama wants to stand with India

Panama assembly president Dana Castaneda, after meeting with the Tharoor-led all-party delegation, said that the country clearly understands the message that the Indian group has conveyed.

"Panama wants to stand with India in this campaign for peace, and we hope that we can defeat terrorism. We have spoken about these issues in detail, and this will help us understand each other better in India's fight against terrorism," Castaneda told news agency ANI.

Operation Sindoor

The Indian armed forces, on May 7, launched Operation Sindoor and carried out precision strikes against nine terror infrastructures related to outfits such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The mission was launched in response to the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.

The mission was "focused, measured and non-escalatory" and solely aimed at destroying terror networks.

Shashi Tharoor's delegation

The all-party delegation led by Shashi Tharoor includes Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), Gants Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), and India's former Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Sandhu.

The delegations' purpose is to underline the nation's strong message of unity and brotherhood, as well as its collective resolve to fight against the scourge of terrorism.