Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a dig at the United States after President Donald Trump met with Pakistan army chief Asim Munir and urged Washington not to forget Islamabad's track record of harbouring terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden.
Bin Laden was the mastermind of the 9/11 twin towers attack, in which more than 2,900 people, mostly Americans, were killed.
"Osama Bin Laden killed over 2,000 people in the 9/11 attacks. He destroyed two iconic American buildings. So, in these circumstances, Pakistan's culpability in hiding this man, until he was finally found in a safe house near an army camp in a cantonment city, is something that cannot be easily forgotten by the Americans," the Congress leader said.
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Tharoor said he hoped that during the interaction, the US had reminded Pakistan of the importance of not supporting terrorism or providing safe havens to terrorists and of not enabling, guiding, training, arming, financing, equipping or sending terrorists into India.
Tharoor says Indian delegation delivered clear message on terrorism
Tharoor recently led a delegation of Indian MPs to the US and other nations to engage on global counter-terrorism issues following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
{{/usCountry}}Tharoor recently led a delegation of Indian MPs to the US and other nations to engage on global counter-terrorism issues following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
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When reporters asked why the US President did not meet the Indian delegation but the Pakistani General, Tharoor said that Vice President J D Vance received the Indian delegates, which was a "significant honour."
He said that parliamentary delegates are usually met by senior officials, like Deputy Secretaries of State. He also pointed out that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met with Trump much earlier.
What Tharoor said about Trump's mediation claim
On the alleged US mediation to end the India-Pakistan conflict, Tharoor said that India never needed any persuading to stop, as it had made it clear that if Pakistan stopped, so would it.
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"If there was any pressure from President Trump, it would only have been on Pakistan. When Pakistan offered to stop, we stopped. So, there was no requirement for any mediation or any pressure on us," he said.
(with PTI inputs)