Colombia withdraws statement supporting Pakistan after India expresses disappointment

A multi-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor during a press interaction, in Colombia.

After Congress-leader Shashi Tharoor voiced disappointment on India's behalf over Colombia's stance, condoling the loss of life in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Colombia, on Friday, said that the statement it had earlier made has now been withdrawn.

"Began today with an excellent meeting with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, and her senior colleagues dealing with the Asia-Pacific. I expressed India's view of recent events and voiced disappointment at Colombia's statement on 8 May, conveying "heartfelt condolences" to Pakistan. The Minister assured me that the statement had been withdrawn and that our position was now properly understood and strongly supported," Tharoor wrote in an X post.

While appreciating Colombia's shift in stance and support for India in its anti-terrorism stand, Tharoor said, "The Vice Minister very graciously mentioned that they have withdrawn the statement that we had expressed concern about and that they fully understand our position on the matter, which is something we really value."

This came after Tharoor, who is currently leading a multi-party delegation in America, to promote India's anti-terrorism stance and to talk about India's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, said during a press conference that India was disappointed with the Colombian government for their condolences to Pakistan, thus showing no support for India and the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, who were gunned down after confirming their religious identities.

"We were a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which apparently expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathising with the victims of terrorism," said Tharoor.

He added, "We will say to our friends in Colombia, there can be no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who resist them. There can be no equivalence between those who attack and those who defend. We are only exercising our right of self-defence, and if there is any misunderstanding here, on this core, we are here to dispel any such misunderstanding."

Meanwhile, talking about the issue, BJP leader Tejasvi Surya said, "There is a difference between tourists being killed and terrorists being neutralised. You cannot create an equivalence between the two...The Vice Minister as well as the authorities, saw merit in our arguments and were gracious enough to withdraw the statement that they had made earlier. They also expressed full sympathy and understanding with India's position."