As Pakistan attempted a diplomatic counteroffensive in Washington following India’s Operation Sindoor, its outreach led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was swiftly and forcefully rebutted by the Indian delegation headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Addressing media in the US capital, Tharoor sharply criticized Pakistan’s claims of being a fellow victim of terrorism. “This (Pakistan) delegation is going around saying, ‘We are also victims of terrorism; we’ve lost more lives than India.’ We ask—whose fault is that?” Tharoor said. Quoting former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he added, “You can’t breed vipers in your backyard and expect them to bite only your neighbours.”
Tharoor blamed Pakistan’s own policies for the rise of groups like the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying, “Who created the Taliban, from which TTP broke away? We all know the answer. Pakistan must engage in serious self-reflection instead of pleading innocence.”
Echoing Tharoor, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya ridiculed the Pakistani delegation’s self-declared “peace mission.” “It’s ironic that Bhutto calls his team a ‘peace delegation.’ It’s like the Devil quoting scripture,” Surya said. “A country that promotes failed generals to field marshal and depends on cheap Chinese imports—even in military hardware—simply doesn’t understand what capable leadership or real strength looks like.”
Surya added that India remains a civilisation that has never sought war but would not hesitate to respond to aggression: “If you attack us not once, we are ready to launch a hundred Operation Sindoors.”
Earlier, Bhutto had made a peace pitch at the UN headquarters in New York, even proposing joint intelligence-sharing with India on terrorism. The Indian side dismissed the suggestion outright, citing Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terror.
Reinforcing India’s uncompromising stance, Tharoor said, “The US knows we won’t engage in talks with a gun to our heads. If your neighbour releases Rottweilers to bite your children and then suggests dialogue, will you talk before the dogs are locked up or put down? It’s that simple.”
India’s firm position has found resonance in Washington. US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast expressed clear support for India’s actions: “When you are attacked, you have no choice but to respond. The world understands that. We see a strong and growing partnership with India.”
Pakistan’s growing diplomatic isolation was further exposed when its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made another appeal to former US President Donald Trump to mediate talks with India—a proposal that India has repeatedly rejected.
India’s message remains unequivocal: Any future dialogue must focus solely on Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism and its illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
