India has recalibrated its response to terrorism, asserted Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, in a sharp message delivered from the US, further making it clear that attacks like the recent Pahalgam massacre would not be tolerated.
Speaking during an interaction at the Indian Consulate in New York early Sunday morning, Tharoor said India has “tried everything” with Pakistan - from dossiers to diplomacy - but with continued denial and lack of action on dismantling terror infrastructure, India has now adopted a new approach.
“We are determined now that there's got to be a new bottom line to this,” Tharoor told attendees at the Consulate. “We have tried everything, international dossier, complaints….. everything has been tried. Pakistan has remained in denial. There has been absolutely no conviction, no serious criminal prosecution, no attempt to dismantle the terror infrastructure in that country, and the persistence of safe havens… You (Pakistan) do this, you are going to get this back and we have demonstrated with this Operation (Operation Sindoor) that we can do it with a degree of precision.”
The all-party parliamentary delegation, led by Tharoor and currently on an outreach mission across the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean, is aiming to weave international consensus against terrorism in the wake of the heinous April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead.
Shortly after the attack, The Resistance Front, a group linked to the UN-sanctioned Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the attack. Notably, India had previously submitted evidence about the group to the UN sanctions committee in 2023 and 2024.
Tharoor minced no words in holding Pakistan responsible.
“Within one hour of the atrocity, a group called the Resistance Front had claimed credit… Pakistan chose to follow its usual path of denial,” he remarked during his interaction with the Indian diaspora in the Consulate.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, while also reiterating his party’s opposition status, hailed the Central government’s targeted response.
“I don't work for the government, as you know. I work for an opposition party... I myself authored an op-ed saying the time has come to hit hard but hit smart. I'm pleased to say that's exactly what India did... very precise and calibrated strikes took place on nine specific known terrorist bases, headquarters, and launchpads.”
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He pointed out that India's policy has now shifted from diplomatic restraint to operational resolve, reflecting the country's evolving security doctrine. “We are not going to confine ourselves only to listings, to diplomacy, to the production of international dossiers. We are also going to exercise our right to self-defence, which every country recognises,” he declared.
Further, in his remarks, Tharoor also linked the Pahalgam attack to a broader effort to sabotage normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir.
“Some people decided they would want to attack that process of normalisation, to undermine the narrative, as well as the prosperity of the people of Kashmir. It was not just a terrorist attack of someone going around with a bomb. It was a bunch of people going around identifying the religions of the people before them and killing them on that basis… The message was very clear that there was a malign intent… India, sadly, had no reason to doubt where it came from.”
Earlier in the day, Tharoor and the delegation paid tribute at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Calling the moment “very moving,” he drew parallels between the US and India’s experiences with terrorism.
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“We ourselves in India have been subject to the same wounds that you are seeing the scars of today in this very moving memorial. We came both as a reminder that this is a shared problem, but also out of a spirit of solidarity with the victims, who included Indians… It is a global problem, and we must fight it unitedly.”
Addressing the international community, he stressed the need for “mutual solidarity and strength” in countering terrorism. “Just as the US showed such resolution and determination in the wake of 9/11, so too our country has stood up against the forces of evil who attacked us on April 22… We want the world to understand that this is not a time for indifference, but for mutual strength and mutual solidarity.”
He reiterated that India’s primary focus remains peace and economic growth.
“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… 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 also recalled the 2015 Pathankot airbase attack, underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unprecedented gesture of allowing Pakistani investigators into the site.
“Imagine the horror of the Indian military establishment with this idea that Pakistani investigators would come to Indian airways… but they came and went back to Pakistan and said all the Indians did it to themselves… For us, 2015 was the last opportunity for them to behave.”
On the role of the Indian diaspora, Tharoor urged active involvement in shaping global opinion. “You are a very influential diaspora… You are prosperous… You have an influential voice… We would like you to help sensitise public opinion and political opinion in this country about what is going on and how wrong it is… you are actually a force multiplier for us.”
The all-party delegation includes MPs Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), GM Harish Balayagi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejasvi Surya, Bhubaneswar K Lata (BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), and former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
The team is expected to visit Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia as part of its mission.
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