The Indian all-party diplomatic delegation, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, faced a pointed question during a press conference in New York — from none other than Tharoor’s own son. Ishan Tharoor, a foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post, took the mic to pose a serious question about Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
When Ishan rose to ask the question, Tharoor jokingly remarked, “It shouldn’t be allowed.”
Tharoor clarified for the audience that the journalist questioning him was indeed his son.
When Ishan introduced himself and picked up the mic to ask his question, the senior Tharoor gestured to lift the mic higher.
Thereafter the proceedings shifted to a serious mode.
Ishan Tharoor asked whether any country had sought evidence from the Indian delegation regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people, most of them tourists. He also asked about Pakistan’s repeated denials of any role.
Tharoor responded that while foreign governments had not demanded evidence, “the media have asked in two or three places.” He emphasized that India would not have taken military action without solid proof: “Let me say very clearly that India would not have done this without convincing evidence.”
Tharoor outlined three main reasons behind India’s conclusion of Pakistan’s involvement.
He cited Pakistan’s 37-year record of supporting terrorism while issuing denials. He referenced the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the safe haven given to Osama bin Laden near a Pakistani military facility, and the intercepted communications between terrorists and handlers during the Mumbai siege. “They will dispatch terrorists and deny it until they are caught red-handed,” he said.
Tharoor noted that the Resistance Front, widely recognized as a proxy for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack within 45 minutes—before most of the world had even heard of the incident. Though the claim was later retracted, he said, the initial admission was telling. India has presented evidence against the group at the UN Security Council's 1267 Sanctions Committee, though listing was blocked, allegedly due to Pakistan’s membership on the committee.
Following India’s retaliatory strikes, Tharoor said, funerals were held in Pakistan for members of groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. “Photographs have emerged showing Pakistani generals and police officers in uniform attending these funerals,” he stated.
Tharoor stressed the deliberate and calculated nature of the Pahalgam attack, which he described as “a quasi-military style operation,” not the act of a lone radical. He noted that India recorded 24 terror attacks originating from Pakistan in the past year, but none prompted such a response. The Pahalgam attack, he said, showed clear evidence of planning, reconnaissance, and targeted execution.
“India is not the kind of country that would undertake a military operation without a solid basis,” Tharoor said. “This was not some random terror attack… it required a military response.”
Tharoor and the delegation are meeting with US lawmakers, think tanks, and other stakeholders to build consensus and share evidence about the attack and the broader regional threat posed by Pakistan-based terror outfits.
(With inputs from ANI)