‘Successful strikes, not Mr Trump...’: Shashi Tharoor backs India's stance on truce with Pakistan
Shashi Tharoor said that it was India's successful strikes "and not Mr Trump", that led Pakistan to appeal for peace with India back in May.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday heaped praise on Operation Sindoor, India's military action against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, saying the operation sent a clear message that "we will not sit quietly of terror is unleashed on us".
He also backed India's stance on the cessation of hostilities with Pakistan in May following days of a military conflict, and said that it was India's successful strikes "and not Mr Trump", that led Pakistan to appeal for a truce with India.
In his address during the book launch of 'Whither India-Pakistan Relations Today? Can They Ever Be Good Neighbours?', Tharoor said, "The successful strikes on the night of 9-10 May and the ability of India to intercept the attempted Pakistani response, when they sent missiles to Delhi on the morning of 10th May, is what contributed undoubtedly, and not Mr Trump, to the call by the Pakistani DGMO to his Indian counterpart asking for peace."
India and Pakistan declared a ceasefire on May 10, days after India launched Operation Sindoor, following a call by Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to his Indian counterpart.
However, US President Donald Trump has since claimed on many occasions that is was upon his mediation that India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire agreement, and that he stopped a "nuclear war". His claims have time and again been refuted by New Delhi, asserting that the truce was reached bilaterally.
However, the Congress has often questioned the government over Trump's claims. Most recently, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi raked up the issue in Parliament seeking clarity on the US President's claims. The Congress leader dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to directly confront Trump’s claims, and said, “If he has the courage, he will say here that Donald Trump is a liar. 50% Indira Gandhi ka courage hai toh ye bol dega,” Rahul Gandhi said in a dare of sorts to PM Modi and then went on to fix his reference to the prime minister saying, "bol denge, sorry”.
Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor also heaped praise on Operation Sindoor during his address on Tuesday, saying the move showed India won't bow down to terror. “With Balakot in 2019 and Operation Sindoor now, India has sent a very clear message that we will not sit quietly of terror is unleashed on us,” Tharoor said.
He also recalled writing an op-ed after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, and said, “At the end of the day, India did not have very much choice on how to react to all this... Couple of days after Pahalgam, I wrote an op-ed advocating precisely this... You can imagine my satisfaction and semi-disbelief that I didnt realise anyone in Delhi would be reading my op-ed... Which is why I was such an enthusiastic supporter of it. It followed exactly the course of action I had advised in my op-ed."
India launched strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, in response to the Pahalgam attack.
Over 100 terrorists were killed, and the following days saw a military escalation after Pakistan attempted to attack military bases in India. In response, India dealt a huge blow to the Pakistani military, targeting bases in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian, etc.
