Misinformation circulating, lot of work to be done in Washin
Misinformation circulating, lot of work to be done in Washington — Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor, who is currently leading the all-party Indian parliamentary delegation in Brazil, has said that the upcoming visit to the United States
BRASILIA — Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is currently leading the all-party
Indian parliamentary delegation in Brazil, has said that the upcoming visit to
the United States will be a crucial opportunity to counter misinformation and
competing narratives surrounding Operation Sindoor.
His remarks come amid ongoing assertions by US President
Donald Trump that his administration helped broker the ceasefire understanding
between India and Pakistan -- claims New Delhi firmly denies.
According to Indian officials, it was Pakistan that
reached out to India with a request to halt military action following the
Pahalgam terror attack, not the other way around.
Tharoor underlined the importance of setting the record
straight during the delegation's final leg of international outreach, which
will take them to Washington.
Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of engagements in
Brazil, Tharoor said, "Washington is a particularly interesting case
because it is a large country, a superpower with enormous influence in the
world, and there are many crosscurrents of information, misinformation, and
other narratives circulating. So, we have quite a lot of work to do
there."
He added that the delegation will engage a broad spectrum
of stakeholders in the US capital.
"We are engaging with a range of audiences,
including government officials, senators, and congressmen on Capitol Hill. We
are also meeting with think tanks and organisations specialising in foreign
policy, and also the media," Tharoor said.
The Congress MP also said that several countries need to
understand that dialogue is not possible with the nations that facilitate
cross-border terrorism.
Emphasising the importance of international solidarity
against terrorism, he noted, "We're looking for solidarity in our struggle
against terrorism. What is very clear in these countries is that some of these
issues they understand, some they don't fully understand. And the natural
instinct in many countries is to say -- why not have a dialogue? But it's very
difficult to have a dialogue with people who are pointing a gun at your head,
who are sending terrorists across your border. That becomes a problem."
He stressed that dismantling the infrastructure of
terrorism must precede any meaningful engagement.
"The first thing should be for them to dismantle the
infrastructure of terrorism. And then we can see what kind of talking we can
do. Stop giving safe haven to killers and murderers, and instead, arrest and
prosecute them. We need a different story, but they have not been doing that in
Pakistan," Tharoor said.
"For us, in these countries, understanding our
position and leaving with a sense of solidarity was important -- and that we
have done," he added.
