Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, currently leading an all-party parliamentary delegation in Washington DC, has firmly pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s old claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited him to mediate on Kashmir. Addressing reporters during a press briefing on Thursday, Tharoor clarified India’s consistent stance on the matter and indirectly countered recent political controversy sparked by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement that Modi had “surrendered” during last month’s flare-up between India and Pakistan.
Refuting Trump’s remarks, Tharoor stated, “We have enormous respect for the American Presidency and the American President. All we can say for ourselves is that we have never particularly wanted to ask anyone to mediate.” Emphasizing India’s longstanding diplomatic position, he said, “I think the US has understood for some time now that India has a very clear position that there will be no talks with a gun pointed at our head.”
Tharoor’s comments came amid growing scrutiny of India's military and diplomatic posture in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives and injured many more. In a significant revelation, Tharoor disclosed classified details about Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory military action. According to him, on May 9, Indian forces targeted and struck 11 Pakistani military airfields during what he described as the “final night of hostilities.”
“Publicly available satellite imagery shows extensive damage – craters on runways, operational command centres bombed,” Tharoor noted, highlighting the scale of India’s offensive. He further claimed that Islamabad, overwhelmed by the damage, made a behind-the-scenes appeal for India to halt further operations. “Pakistan itself acknowledged that Indian strikes were so widespread they ranged from Hyderabad in the south to Peshawar in the northwest,” he said, referring to a leaked Pakistani dossier that has since surfaced in diplomatic circles.
He also made a pointed remark on India’s readiness for dialogue, saying, “We can speak all the languages they (Pakistan) can speak and we’re very happy to dialogue with them in any of those languages.” The statement underscored India’s firm stance on holding talks only when cross-border terrorism ceases.
The all-party delegation, which earlier visited Brazil, is now in the United States to provide clarity on India’s counterterrorism strategy and communicate the objectives and outcomes of Operation Sindoor to American stakeholders.
