New York: In a forceful address that underscored India’s rising assertiveness on the global stage, senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called out Pakistan’s “predictable denial and deflection” following the brutal Pahalgam terror attack and applauded India’s calibrated military response under Operation Sindoor.
Speaking at the Indian Consulate in New York as part of an all-party diplomatic outreach, Tharoor emphasized the need for united global action against terrorism. “Our visit began with a symbolic stop at the 9/11 Memorial. It was a reminder that this is a shared global scourge,” he said, while addressing media personnel and foreign policy experts.
Referring to the April 22 massacre in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, Tharoor highlighted the sectarian motives behind the attack, where victims were allegedly chosen based on their religion in an attempt to provoke unrest. “India responded with smart, surgical precision – striking nine specific terror infrastructure points operated by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad,” he said, naming targets in Muridke and Bahawalpur.
In a rare moment of cross-party unity, Tharoor endorsed the Modi government’s military response. “I don’t work for the government, as you know. I work for an opposition party,” he stated. “But I myself authored an op-ed in one of India’s leading papers, within a couple of days, saying that the time had come to hit hard and hit smart – and I’m pleased to say that’s exactly what India did.”
He also condemned Pakistan’s denial of involvement and China’s obstructionist role at the United Nations Security Council, where Beijing reportedly blocked references to The Resistance Front (TRF) — the group that claimed responsibility for the attack. “Sadly, this pattern is familiar – Pakistan obfuscates while its proxies kill. Worse still, China shields them on global platforms,” Tharoor asserted.
The bipartisan delegation, which includes MPs from across the political spectrum such as BJP’s Tejasvi Surya and former Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, aims to project India’s unified stance against terrorism in key global capitals. Their visit comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s decisive military response on May 7 targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
