‘We’re a status quo power, Pakistan is not’: Shashi Tharoor slams cross-border terror in US address | India News

Shashi Tharoor (ANI photo)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor outlined India’s firm but measured response to the Pahalgam terror attack on Saturday in New York. The MP is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries as part of India’s global outreach against terrorism amid Operation Sindoor.While speaking at the Indian Consulate in New York, Tharoor said the attack was carried out by militants who identified victims by their religion before killing them, in what he called a clear attempt to provoke communal violence. “It was a bunch of people going around identifying the religions of the people before them and killing them on that basis, which was clearly intended to provoke a backlash in the rest of India, since the victims were overwhelmingly Hindu,” Tharoor said, adding, “There was an extraordinary amount of togetherness cutting across religious and other divides in India that people have tried to provoke. The message is very clear that there was a malign intent... India, sadly, had no reason to doubt where it came from.” Tharoor emphasised that within an hour, the Resistance Front claimed responsibility. He reminded the audience that this group is linked to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba and had already been flagged to the UN in 2023 and 2024. “Sadly, Pakistan chose to follow its usual path of denial,” he said, noting that China supported the removal of the Resistance Front’s mention from the UN Security Council’s press statement. Describing India’s response, Tharoor said, “The time had come to hit hard and hit smart and I’m pleased to say that’s exactly what India did.” He said strikes were carried out on nine known terror sites, including those linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammad in Bahawalpur. “India sent a clear message that it was not going to take terror lying down,” he added. Tharoor stressed that the strikes were precise and limited in scope. “It was not meant to be the opening salvo in a protracted war but just an act of retribution,” he explained.Tharoor made it clear that while India responded firmly to terrorism, it does not seek escalation or armed conflict. He said India’s priorities lie elsewhere, focused on growth and development.“We are not interested in warfare with Pakistan. We would much rather be left alone to grow our economy and pull our people into the world they are getting ready for in the 21st century. But, the Pakistanis sadly, we might be a status quo power but they are not…they covet territory India controls, and they want to have it at any price. If they can’t get it through conventional means, they are willing to get it through terrorism, and that is not acceptable...”Tharoor said the all-party delegation’s first stop was the 9/11 Memorial in New York, symbolising their solidarity with victims of terrorism worldwide. “We came both as a reminder that this is a shared problem, but also out of a spirit of solidarity with the victims… It’s a global problem, it’s a scourge and we must all fight it unitedly,” he said. The delegation he leads includes members from the BJP, Shiv Sena, Lok Janshakti Party, and others, showcasing India’s political unity against terrorism. The group will meet political leaders, think tanks, and the media across several countries to share India’s perspective on terrorism and push for coordinated international action.