Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who led a multi-party delegation on a diplomatic outreach mission to five countries, including the United States, reported "good results" and strong international support for India’s position following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
The visit aimed to explain the context behind Operation Sindoor — India’s response to the deadly attack that claimed 26 lives.
Speaking to reporters after returning from the tour, Tharoor said, “We had very high-quality meetings — presidents, PMs, vice presidents, very senior interlocutors.” He emphasised that the purpose of the delegation was to showcase a unified Indian stance across party lines and effectively communicate with foreign governments, lawmakers, think tanks, media, and the Indian diaspora.
"I think it was a very good visit. We were all very pleased with the way all the five countries we went to received us. We thought we had good results everywhere," he added.
According to Tharoor, there was broad understanding and respect for India’s measured reaction to the Pahalgam attack.
“In fact, many of the people we spoke to specifically expressed respect for the restraint we have shown in our reaction. I would say, we have come out of this extremely well,” he said, noting that the delegation had fulfilled its objectives.
Focusing on the US leg of the trip, Tharoor observed that Pakistan’s narrative failed to find traction.
“Not only did everyone understand and accept our point of view, but even the responses from American lawmakers were strongly in our favour… Pakistan’s position is extremely weak,” he noted. Referring to Pakistan’s attempts to distance itself from terror groups, Tharoor said, “I told them, ‘… if you raise a snake in your house, don’t expect it to bite only your enemies.’ That’s the message I conveyed to everyone.”
The delegation's final stop was Washington, where it held multiple meetings on Capitol Hill and with US government officials from June 3 to June 5. Prior to this, the team visited Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil.
The group was part of a broader initiative by India, which sent seven multi-party delegations to 33 global capitals to highlight Pakistan’s connections to terrorism and to build international support for India’s actions post-Pahalgam.
Delegation members included Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), and former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu.
India’s retaliatory precision strikes on May 7 targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Hostilities between the two nations de-escalated following military-level discussions on May 10, bringing a halt to four days of heightened tensions.