Bogota [Colombia], May 30 : All-Party Delegation Leader and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that he was disappointed with the Colombian government, as they condoled the deaths of Pakistanis in Indian strikes, instead of sympathising with the victims of the terror attack in India.
Tharoor said that there can be no equivalence between perpetrators of terrorism and those who resist it.
"I have to say that 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," he said.
Tharoor added that his delegation is here to clear the air and explain India's stance to Colombia- how India exercised its right to self-defence.
"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 call, we are here to dispel any such misunderstanding. We're very happy to talk to Colombia in some detail about the circumstances," he said.
Tharoor explained how Pakistan-based 'The Resistance Front', a unit of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack twice.
"We have, as I said, very concrete proof. When this terrorist attack occurred, it was immediately claimed by an organisation called The Resistance Front, which is a unit of the Lashkar-e-Taiba based in Muridke, Pakistan. There is no doubt that they reiterated this credit the next day. It is only after their handlers realised the damage this could do that they then deleted the claim two days later, but the claim has been made," he said.
Tharoor said that just like India, Colombia too has endured several terror attacks and India has the right to self-defence. He said that it is a well-known fact that Pakistan has been a breeding ground for terrorism.
"There is no doubt as to where this came from, and we will reserve the right to hit back. Just as Colombia has endured many terror attacks, so have we in India. We have endured a very large number of attacks for almost four decades. Frankly, it is now very well established that Pakistan has been breeding the monsters of terrorism for a very long time for their purposes," he said.
In a post on X, Tharoor said, "Our Colombia visit got underway today with a briefing to the delegation from our Ambassador, Vanlalhuma, followed by a well-attended press interaction with more than a dozen local media outlets. I then did an interview with Colombian journalist Juan Camillo Ramirez. Getting the message out where it needs to be heard!"
https://x.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1928218047031963685
The Tharoor-led multiparty delegation includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora.
The all-party delegation, consisting of representatives from seven national political groups, was initiated to counter Pakistan's misinformation and underscore India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism.
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