New Delhi [India], June 10 : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who led a five-member all-party delegation to Colombia, on Tuesday praised the success of their diplomatic efforts. Tharoor highlighted a significant achievement where the Colombian government reversed its initial stance on Operation Sindoor, a move that was seen as favourable to Pakistan.
Tharoor highlighted the strong understanding and rapport built with parliamentarians during the visit, which contributed to the success of the diplomatic efforts. Following discussions with Tharoor's delegation, the Acting Foreign Minister of Colombia publicly acknowledged support for India's stand.
"Each of these meetings was very good. In Colombia, one positive thing for us was that we actually got them to reverse the stand they had taken, perhaps without enough thought. When #OperationSindoor started, they had issued a statement expressing heartfelt condolences for the Pakistani victims, having lost sight of the context. Once we had explained all that, they withdrew their statement. The statement was on record for a couple of weeks, but it was taken down as soon as we raised the issue, and subsequently, we got the Acting Foreign Minister to speak to the media and acknowledge their support for our stand, and we had told them. So, all of that went very well. I think particularly, with Parliamentarians everywhere, the level of understanding was first class...," said Tharoor.
Tharoor attributed the success to effective communication and building understanding with the Colombian officials. A private dinner hosted by a former Colombian ambassador allowed Tharoor's delegation to express their concerns and clarify India's position.
The Colombian government quickly responded to India's concerns, withdrawing the statement immediately after Tharoor's opening remarks.
"We should talk to people and make them understand. We had a press conference when we arrived, so I sent a signal that we are very disappointed. Then, on the same night, we had a private dinner hosted by an ex-ambassador of Colombia. He hosted a dinner for us, where the Asia director of the Foreign Ministry was also present. So we told them it was not right that you did this, and they understood our problem. The next day was our formal meeting. So before the formal meeting, they talked and made people understand; hence, immediately after my opening remarks, they immediately replied that we were withdrawing it (statement)," said Tharoor.
Tharoor's delegation received a warm welcome in Colombia and other countries they visited. They had high-quality meetings with senior officials, including presidents, prime ministers, and vice presidents. The delegation's message was well-received, and many interlocutors respected India's restraint in the face of provocation.
Speaking about his delegation's visit, Tharoor said, "We were all very pleased with how the five countries went through to receive us. We had good results everywhere high-quality meetings president, prime minister, vice presidents, very senior interlocutors everywhere and at the same time they there was a complete understanding and support for a position on why this whole thing had been triggered off in Pahalgam, what our reaction had to be. In fact, many of the people we spoke to specifically expressed respect for the restraint we have shown in our reaction."
Tharoor expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the delegation's visit, stating that they had fulfilled their purpose of demonstrating India's unity across political lines and delivering an effective message to government officials, legislators, think tanks, media, and the diaspora
"I would say that we have come out of this extreme well. As far as the government is concerned I think the purpose of sending MPs to both demonstrate the Unity of India across political lines and the same time to deliver an effective message to government officials, legislators think tanks and opinion makers as well as media and where appropriate, the diaspora, all of this was very thoroughly fulfilled so I would say that touchwood we have done what they used to do and that way coming home reasonably exhausted and reasonably happy," he said.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor led the all-party delegation which included Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, and Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from the BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora.
This diplomatic effort formed a part of India's global outreach following Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored militants that claimed 26 lives and injured several others.
Subsequently, the Indian Armed Forces carried out targeted strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
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