Colombia retracts statement on Pak deaths after Shashi Tharoor's disapproval
Colombia has retracted its statement condoling the deaths in Pakistan during India's Operation Sindoor, and will issue a fresh one following Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's strong disapproval. The veteran, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, pointed out the matter on Friday, saying that there is no moral equivalence between terrorists and those defending their nation.
advertisement"The Vice Minister very graciously mentioned that they have withdrawn the statement that we had expressed concern about, and that they fully understand our position on the matter which we really value," Tharoor told news agency ANI alongside Colombia's Vice Foreign Minister Ms Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio."We are very confident that with the explanation that we received today and the detailed information that we now have regarding the real situation, the conflict, and what happened in Kashmir, we can also continue the dialogue and be aware of what is happening," Villavicencio said.
Speaking to the media following Colombia's withdrawal, Tharoor repeated his stance on "no equivalence possible between terrorists on the one hand and innocent civilians on the other". He highlighted that India's only disappointment with the South American country's previous statement was that this very difference was "overlooked".advertisement"We're very pleased to learn that that statement has been withdrawn as you've also mentioned, and we are also very pleased that you, as representatives of the people of Colombia, are determined to stand with us for our sovereignty, for peace in the world, for peace in the subcontinent of India and that you are very, very happy that this kind of dialogue will continue between our peoples and our representatives," the Congress veteran told ANI.BJP leader Tejasvi Surya, who is part of the delegation led by Shashi Tharoor, also expressed joy in Colombia retracting its earlier statement. "There is a difference between tourists being killed and terrorists being neutralised. You cannot create an equivalence between the two...The Vice Minister as well as the authorities, saw merit in our arguments and were gracious enough to withdraw the statement that they had made earlier. They also expressed full sympathy and understanding with India's position," he told ANI.Shashi Tharoor has been sharing multiple updates of his five-country global outreach since heading to the same.On Friday after Colombia's earlier statement on Pakistan, the Congress veteran had highlighted that Operation Sindoor was a legitimate response after the Pahalgam massacre in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were shot dead point-blank by terrorists. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front - a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoot based in Pakistan.The Shashi Tharoor-led delegation is one of seven tasked by the Indian government with a global outreach mission to explain to 33 countries why India conducted Operation Sindoor. His delegation will also visit the US.Must Watch
IN THIS STORY#Shashi Tharoor#Operation Sindoor
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