Bagota: India cannot have a dialogue with Pakistan unless Islamabad decides to dismantle terror groups in the country, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said. He said that India does not believe in dialogue with the gun pointed toward its forehead.
Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation across countries to reveal Pakistan’s role in terrorism, observed that Mahatma Gandhi too believed in peace. He also led the freedom struggle against the British.
‘We belong to the land of Mahatma Gandhi’
Addressing an event at the Columbia Council for International Relations in Bogota, he noted as per ANI, “I would like you to understand our perspective; we don’t disagree with you about the importance of peace. We belong to the land of Mahatma Gandhi, who taught us the importance of peace- “Ahinsa”. “
He added, “But at the same time, for us, peace has to be accompanied by self-respect, and freedom has to be accompanied by freedom from fear. Remember that Mahatma Gandhi was a man of peace, but he also led the freedom struggle against the British. So you don’t just sit quietly and turn the other cheek, but you stand up for what is right in your belief. That is what India has exactly chosen to do while facing terrorism.”
Slamming Pakistan for using terrorism as an instrument of state police, he noted, “While we understand that disputes must be settled through dialogue, we do not believe in dialogue with a gun pointed towards our forehead. When Pakistan, which has used terrorism as an instrument of state policy, actually decides to dismantle terror operators constructed in its country, then we can talk about dialogue.”
Meanwhile, Colombia withdrew its previous statement offering condolences to Pakistan after India’s Operation Sindoor. The development came a day after Tharoor expressed disappointment at Colombia’s previous statement in which it condoled the deaths in Pakistan after India’s Operation Sindoor.
