India's desire for peace not reciprocated by Pak: Tharoor in Panama

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in Panama urges global pressure on Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack, says India's patience is tested but national unity is firm

Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has said that India’s desire for peace is “not reciprocated” by Pakistan, calling for global action to bring the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice.

 

Speaking in Panama as part of India's global outreach after 'Operation Sindoor', Tharoor told lawmakers including Dana Castaneda, President of the Panama Assembly, that India has waited "too long" for Pakistan to act.

 

“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,” he said.

 

 

Operation Sindoor after no action by Pakistan

 

Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation to the country, said India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, two weeks after the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.

 

“When nothing was clearly being done, two weeks later, on May 7, we attacked the known headquarters of terrorist bases inside Pakistan,” he said.

 

Tharoor emphasised that India did not want war but could not allow such a deadly attack to go unpunished. “We had no interest in starting a war, but we felt that a terrorist act must not go unpunished,” he said.

 

National unity against terror

 

Tharoor emphasised that leaders from across India’s political spectrum had come together in this outreach mission. “We all come from different political backgrounds and different parts of India, but we are united in national purpose,” he said.

 

The Congress MP warned that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism remains a real threat. “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 told the Panamanian lawmakers.

 

Firm stand on Kashmir

 

Tharoor also reiterated that India will never compromise on Kashmir. “Unfortunately, our desire to just be left alone is not reciprocated by our friends on the other side of the border,” he said.

 

He declared that India would not cede any part of its sovereign territory, regardless of the price it has repeatedly paid in the past.

 

Message to terrorists

 

Issuing a stern warning, Tharoor said let there be no doubt that terrorists will face consequences. He explained that during Operation Sindoor, India had struck targets beyond the Line of Control (LoC) and even crossed the international border, hitting sites in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and other parts of Pakistan’s Punjab region.

 

“This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border… We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, and terror headquarters in nine places,” Tharoor said.

 

He noted that even during the Kargil War, India did not take such action but has now chosen to act firmly in response to continued terrorism.