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Why Shashi Tharoor is ‘disappointed' with Colombia's take on Operation Sindoor
The Colombian government offered condolences to Pakistan over the deaths caused by India's retaliatory strikes on May 7, conducted under 'Operation Sindoor'. Responding to this, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is currently heading a multi-party delegation visiting five countries, including Panama and the US, said he was 'disappointed' by Colombia's stance. He stated that the Pahalgam terror attack could not go unanswered and clarified that the strikes were aimed at terrorist bases under Operation Sindoor read more
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that he is 'disappointed' by Colombia's recent statement on the Indian military action carried out under 'Operation Sindoor'.
Notably, the Thiruvananthapuram MP is currently leading a multi-party delegation visiting five countries, including Panama and the US.
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The Colombian government had offered its condolences over the loss of lives in Pakistan following India's retaliatory strikes on May 7.
After visiting Panama and Guyana, Tharoor and his delegation arrived in Colombia on Thursday. The visit is part of a global outreach effort to expose Pakistan's actions and put forward India's stand on terrorism.
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In this explainer, we take a closer look at Colombia's statement, what Tharoor said in response, and his remarks in the US about the strike.
Let's take a look:
What did Colombia say on Operation Sindoor? How did Shashi Tharoor react?
The Colombian government offered condolences to Pakistan over the deaths that followed India's retaliatory strikes on May 7, which were carried out as part of Operation Sindoor.
Responding to the message and reiterating India's firm approach towards terrorism, Tharoor said the country could not allow the Pahalgam terror attack to go unanswered. He said the strikes targeted terrorist bases under Operation Sindoor.
#WATCH | Bogotá, Colombia | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "We were a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which apparently expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathising with the… pic.twitter.com/AgpOMpNpSt — ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2025
'We were a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which apparently expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathising with the victims of terrorism," news agency ANI quoted Tharoor as saying during a press briefing attended by several local media outlets.
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Tharoor, who is leading the multi-party delegation, made it clear that India's actions were based on the right to self-defence. He added that it is wrong to draw any comparison between India and Pakistan in this matter.
'We will say to our friends in Colombia, there can be no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who resist them. There can be no equivalence between those who attack and those who defend. We are only exercising our right of self-defence, and if there is any misunderstanding here on this core, we are here to dispel any such misunderstanding. We're very happy to talk to Colombia in some detail about the circumstances," he said.
The senior Congress leader added that The Resistance Front, a group linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and based in Pakistan's Muridke, had quickly claimed responsibility for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
'Just as Colombia has endured many terror attacks, so have we in India. We have endured a very large number of attacks for almost four decades," he said.
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