India’s retaliatory strikes in Pakistan, Pok after Pahalgam terror attack reflect ‘new norm’, says Shashi Tharoor in US

Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party parliamentary delegation across the Americas as part of India’s diplomatic outreach following the April 22 attack, said the retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor had delivered a precise but restrained response to what he described as a “savage” act of terror.

The Pahalgam attack targeted civilians — mostly tourists — in an attack by gunmen who reportedly identified victims based on religion. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a group India has long identified as a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based organization listed on US and UN terror sanctions lists.

India responded with targeted air and missile strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including facilities of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur.

#WATCH | US: Members of the all-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor paid tribute at 9/11 Memorial in New York

Next, they will be heading to their first destination, Guyana. pic.twitter.com/H6VRrlLnxB

— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025

“We didn’t want to start anything,” Tharoor said of the Indian response. “We were just sending a message to terrorists: you started, we replied. If you stop, we stop. And they stopped.”

The Congress MP described the brief military escalation as an “88-hour war,” and emphasized that it was not intended to mark the beginning of a prolonged conflict.

“India sent a clear message that it was not going to take terror lying down,” he said. “But equally, by delivering very precise, calibrated strikes on specific targets, we were also sending a message that this was not meant to be the opening salvo in a protracted war — just an act of retribution.”

Tharoor also noted that even from the Opposition, he had publicly advocated for a firm but measured Indian response following the April massacre. Citing a piece he had written for The Indian Express, he said: “I myself authored an op-ed in one of India’s leading papers, within a couple of days, saying that the time had come to hit hard and hit smart. And I’m pleased to say that’s exactly what India did.”

Tharoor also noted that New Delhi had presented dossiers to the United Nations’ sanctions committee in 2023 and 2024, flagging TRF’s links to banned outfits. However, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, he said, a reference to TRF in a proposed UN Security Council press statement was removed — allegedly at Pakistan’s urging and with support from China.

“Sadly, Pakistan chose to follow its usual path of denial,” he said.

Despite the escalation, Tharoor reiterated that India harbours no desire for a long-term conflict. “We are not interested in warfare with Pakistan,” he said. “We would much rather be left alone to grow our economy and put our people into the world of the 21st century.”

India, he added, seeks stability, not escalation. “We have a right to self-defense. We’ve exercised that right. We have not done so irresponsibly,” Tharoor said. “That’s really the message I wanted to give you all today.”

Tharoor’s remarks come amid a broader campaign by Indian lawmakers to present India’s narrative across the world. The government has said its recent conflict with Pakistan was a direct response to the Pahalgam killings, countering Islamabad’s claim that the escalation was initiated by Operation Sindoor.

The parliamentary delegation — which includes lawmakers from across India’s political spectrum, including the BJP, Congress, TDP, JMM, and Shiv Sena — also includes former Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Their itinerary covers visits to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, and the United States, returning to New York on June 3.

A visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum

On Saturday, the delegation visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in Manhattan, laying a wreath in honour of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 terror attacks in the United States. Tharoor, speaking afterward, said the visit was not only a solemn tribute but also a symbolic gesture of global solidarity in the fight against terrorism.

“It was a very moving moment for us,” he said. “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.”