‘Pakistan has chosen a policy of enabling, financing, equipping terror’: Shashi Tharoor in Panama

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is visiting Panama, with the all-party delegation to convey India’s message for zero tolerance for terrorism and an update on the Pahalgam attack, as well as the subsequent Operation Sindoor, that led to the military conflict between India and Pakistan, said Islamabad wants a country they do not control. He said Pakistan has a policy of enabling and financing terror. India does not want to get distracted from its path of economic prosperity, he said.

Tharoor, speaking at Panama said, “Unfortunately, our desire to just be left alone is not reciprocated by our friends on the other side of the border. They have chosen repeatedly to attack us because they believe that they want a territory which they do not control…which we control. It is part of the sovereign borders of the united India, and we are not going to give it to them even if we have to pay the price that we have repeatedly been paid..."

In a scathing attack, Tharoor spoke of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. He elaborated that despite all the evidence India gathered, Pakistan did not prosecute even a single terrorist. 

“We had all the evidence, we even captured one of the terrorists alive. A very brave policeman gave his life to capture Ajmal Kasab alive. He was identified, his home, his village in Pakistan was identified. Not only India, but Western intelligence agencies had recordings of the chilling voice of the Pakistani cold-blooded handler giving daily minute-by-minute instructions to the killers in Mumbai. While the killings were going on, all the evidence was collected, and dossiers were established. What happened? Has a single person behind this outrage been prosecuted, let alone convicted? The answer is no,” he said.

“Sadly, Pakistan has chosen a policy of enabling terror. Not just enabling but creating terrorist establishments, financing and training terrorists, equipping them. There have been examples in the last 20 years of attacks in New York, in London, in Madrid, in so many different parts of the world, which have been blamed provably on Pakistani terrorists or terrorists trained in Pakistan and brought to these countries. This is the sad reality we are facing today,” said the Congress MP.

Tharoor said India has no quarrel with the people of Pakistan, and would rather live in peace. India is proud of its economic success and has been growing and prospering as a country. India has been trying to pull its people out of poverty, develop its technology so that it can enter the 21st century as a proud nation, he said. 

“We are already the fourth largest economy in dollar terms. By another 10 years or so we should even be the third largest economy, we are already that in purchasing power parity. We are a growing, prosperous country. We don’t want to be distracted by wars, conflict and terror, we want to focus on growth and prosperity, and a better life for our people,” he said.

An all-party parliamentary delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor landed in Panama on Tuesday from Guyana. The delegation, during its visit, will engage with Panamanian leadership and key interlocutors from the media, strategic community, Indian community and diaspora, and friends of India in Panama. Apart from Tharoor, the delegation includes Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Gants Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), and India’s former Ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu.

As part of India’s diplomatic outreach, seven multi-party delegations are travelling to 33 global capitals to engage the international community on Pakistan’s designs and India’s response to terror, especially after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.