1 day ago
Last Updated:June 05, 2025, 08:07 IST
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading an all-party US delegation, stressed no dialogue with Pakistan is possible amid terror threats.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is leading the delegation in US. (Photo: X/ Shashi Tharoor)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is heading an all-party delegation to the United States, on Wednesday, underlined that no dialogue is possible with Pakistan till they have “a gun pointed at our head."
He warned that the action taken by India now can be taken again if Pakistan does not control terror elements on its soil.
While speaking at an interaction session at the Press Club in the US on Wednesday (local time), Tharoor said he believes that the United States has understood India’s stand is clear that there will be “no talks with a gun pointed at our head."
When questioned about the United States’ role in brokering peace talks between India and Pakistan, Tharoor said, “I think the US has understood for some time now that India has a very clear position that there will be no talks with a gun pointed at our head. It’s not that we can’t talk to Pakistan. I was joking the other day, we can speak all the languages they can speak and we’re very happy to dialogue with them in any of those languages."
#WATCH | Washington DC | “I think the US has understood for some time now that India has a very clear position that there will be no talks with a gun pointed at our head… The problem is that we will not deal with people who are pointing a gun at our heads. I mean frankly, if… pic.twitter.com/iEJStb0Ic4— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2025
“The problem is we will not dialogue with people who are pointing a gun at our heads. I mean, frankly, if your neighbour unleashes his Rottweilers to bite your children and in fact to do worse to your children and then says let’s talk. You think he’s going to talk to them until he either unleashes those Rottweilers or locks them up in a kennel or puts them to sleep? It’s as simple as that. You’re not going to talk to people who are pointing guns at your temples. It’s not going to happen," he added.
Tharoor further underlined that the all-party parliamentary delegation is visiting the United States to speak about India’s stance and give an explanation regarding any misapprehensions on the part of interlocutors.
He stated that the delegation aims at explaining India’s stance, and they do not want countries to do anything apart from understanding India’s point of view in the latest escalation with Pakistan.
“We aren’t really here to negotiate outcomes. That’s the job of the government. Our job is to enhance understanding, to clarify our position and to explain if there are any questions or misapprehensions on the part of our interlocutors, we’d be very happy to address them," Tharoor said.
“We’re just saying, this is our position, we want you to understand, and if you have any questions, we’ll answer them, but that’s it. We’re not asking them to do anything other than to understand our point of view, to express their solidarity and to stand with us if it happens again. And we want the world to understand not only what just happened, but what could happen again if Pakistan does not control these elements on its soil," he added.
Tharoor further rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims that he is responsible for stopping the war between India and Pakistan using trade.
On Trump’s claims, Tharoor said, “My understanding is that none of these calls was trade ever mentioned, not one. And certainly our information is that from our side, we gave a consistent response throughout, which corresponds to what I’ve just said to all of you, that we are only taking retribution for a terrorist attack, we are not interested in prolonging this conflict.
Tharoor Says ‘Whose Fault Is That’ Ove Pak’s Claims Of Being Victims Of Terrorism
Speaking about Pakistan’s claims that they are victims of terrorism, Tharoor said, “This (Pakistan) delegation is going around saying we are also victims of terrorism, we have lost more lives to terrorism than India has. We turn around and say- whose fault is that? As Hillary Clinton famously said 10 years ago. You can’t breed vipers in your backyard and expect them to bite only your neighbours…That’s why they (Pakistan) are now getting terrorists attacked by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, but who created the Taliban from which the Tehrik-i-Taliban broke off?"
The delegation headed by Tharoor reached the United States on Wednesday. The delegation included 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 was given the task of briefing key stakeholders in the US on Operation Sindoor.
On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
The Indian Armed Forces hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and killed more than 100 terrorists affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. On May 10, India and Pakistan agreed to a cessation of hostilities.
Location :Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:News world 'No Dialogue With People Pointing Gun At Our Heads': Shashi Tharoor's Stern Message To Pakistan
