NEW DELHI: The multi-party parliamentary delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on late Sunday concluded its high-level visit to the United States, wrapping up the final leg of a diplomatic mission aimed at building international consensus on India’s counter-terrorism stance following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead.Taking to X as he wrapped up the US visit, Tharoor wrote: “If you are born a hundred times, you will do it a hundred times. I will love my country with all my heart… A Watan. The whole world now knows the truth. We are lovers of non-violence, but only until someone tests that… Jai Hind!”On the final day of the tour, the delegation paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Washington. Tharoor later posted on X: “It is striking how many world capitals are adorned with statues or busts of the Mahatma, the 20th century’s greatest apostle of peace, nonviolence, and human freedom.”The group, which arrived in Washington on June 3 after stops in Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil, met with several key American leaders including US Vice President JD Vance, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, senior members of Congress, policy experts, and members of the Indian-American community.Describing the meeting with Vance as “an excellent meeting,” Tharoor said the Vice President was “warm and welcoming and receptive,” and “expressed complete understanding, first of all, outrage of what happened in Pahalgam and support and respect for India’s restrained response in Operation Sindoor.”A US State Department spokesperson said Landau “reaffirmed the United States’ strong support of India in the fight against terrorism and the strategic partnership between the two countries.”Addressing the Centre on Foreign Relations, Tharoor had said India’s actions were targeted at terror infrastructure, not civilians. “We’re not interested in attacking Pakistani civilians, ordinary people. This is about India versus terrorism… If you’re not prepared to shut down the safe havens or arrest terrorist leaders, then I’m afraid this is the only way we can deal with it,” he said.Referring to Pakistan’s military, he added, “In India, the state has an army. In Pakistan, the army has a state,” accusing Islamabad of manipulating public opinion through conflict. Tharoor dismissed claims of Pakistani success during the brief hostilities that followed, saying, “Two videos came out on social media, both turned out to be from other conflicts in other years, nothing to do with this one.”
