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India's Stance on Pakistan and the Global Fight Against Terrorism: Shashi Tharoor Speaks in New York
In a candid address at the Indian Consulate in New York, a high-level all-party Indian delegation, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, underscored India's aspirations for economic growth and peace, contrasting it with Pakistan's persistent territorial ambitions and use of terrorism. The delegation's visit, which included a poignant moment at the 9/11 Memorial, aimed to highlight the global nature of terrorism and solicit international solidarity.
Tharoor articulated India's clear position: "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." However, he lamented Pakistan's stance, stating, "But, the Pakistanis, sadly, we might be a status quo power, but they are not...they covet the 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 to us."
A Shared Scourge: Connecting Global Terror Attacks
The visit took on added significance as the delegation visited the 9/11 Memorial. Tharoor described it as "a very moving moment for us, but it was also meant to send a very strong message that we are here in a city which is still bearing the scars of that savage terrorist attack in the wake of yet another terrorist attack in our own country." This powerful gesture aimed to underscore the shared threat of terrorism and foster a spirit of solidarity with victims worldwide. "We came both as a reminder that this is a shared problem, but also out of a spirit of solidarity with the victims... It's a global problem, it's a scourge and we must all fight it unitedly," he emphasized.
The Pahalgam Attack: A Stark Reminder
Tharoor specifically addressed the brutal terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, which tragically claimed the lives of 26 people, predominantly tourists. He detailed the chilling nature of the attack: "It was a bunch of people going around identifying the religions of the people before them and killing them on that basis, which was intended to provoke a backlash in the rest of India, since the victims were overwhelmingly Hindu.
"Within an hour of the atrocity, a group calling itself "The Resistance Front" (TRF) claimed responsibility. Tharoor highlighted TRF's known affiliation: "The Resistance Front was known for some years to be a frontal organisation of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is on the US-designated terror list as well as UN sanctions committees." He further revealed that India had previously presented information about TRF to the UN sanctions committee in 2023 and 2024, only for the group to act on its threats in 2025.#WATCH | New York, US: During an interaction at the Consulate, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "Our idea is very much to speak to a cross section of public and political opinion in each of the countries we're going to about recent events which trouble a number of people around… pic.twitter.com/UlxYqYmH6T
— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025
Pakistan's Denial and China's Role
In a concerning turn of events, Tharoor revealed that Pakistan, with China's assistance, successfully thwarted efforts to include a reference to TRF in a UN Security Council press statement drafted two days after the attack. "Unfortunately, Pakistan chose to follow its usual path of denial and succeeded in removing the reference to TRF from the press statement drafted in the Security Council of the UN two days later with China’s help," he stated.
The delegation, comprising JMM MP Sarfaraz Ahmad, BJP MPs Tejasvi Surya and Bhubaneswar Kalita, and TDP MP Ganti Harish Madhur, is set to continue its diplomatic outreach after the US, with planned visits to Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia. This strategic tour underscores India's commitment to garnering international support in its fight against terrorism and fostering global understanding of its regional challenges.
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