In a powerful speech delivered at Panama City, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sent a clear message: terrorism against India will no longer go unanswered.
Speaking as part of New Delhi’s all-party delegation, Tharoor reaffirmed India’s firm stance against cross-border terror, particularly targeting Pakistan.
Tharoor began by recalling how India’s security approach has shifted dramatically in recent years. “India’s response to terrorism has fundamentally changed,” he said, pointing to decisive actions such as the surgical strikes after the Uri attack in 2016 and the Balakot airstrikes following the Pulwama attack in 2019.
For the first time, India crossed the Line of Control and struck terror bases deep inside Pakistani territory.
This shift is not just military but also a message to the world: “Those who strike at us will not go unpunished,” Tharoor emphasized. He noted that recent operations even targeted terror hubs in the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan, signaling India’s resolve to go after terrorists wherever they hide.
Tharoor made it clear that India can no longer suffer silently and appeal repeatedly to the international community for justice. “We cannot keep suffering and then appeal to the world. We must act, and we have acted,” he said.
Tharoor’s words carried a heavy emotional weight, especially when he spoke about the victims of the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
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He shared a moving story of how some women cried out that the terrorists had killed them too, reflecting the deep human cost behind the headlines. “India decided that the colour of the Sindoor, the vermilion on our women’s foreheads, will also match the blood of the killers,” he said, a vivid symbol of India’s pain and determination.
Tharoor also criticized the lack of global action against terror networks based in Pakistan.
Despite Western intelligence having recordings of handlers directing the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, no one has been convicted. “This is a global issue,” he noted, citing terror attacks in New York, London, and Madrid linked to Pakistani-trained terrorists.
The Congress MP presented a Kashmiri shawl to the President of the Panama National Assembly as a symbol of grief and solidarity for Pahalgam victims.
Called on the President of the National Assembly of Panama, Dana Castañeda, who was accompanied by senior members of Parliament Edwin Vergara and Julio de la Guardia (the latter a former Ambassador to India).explained our mission to her and received strong assurances of… pic.twitter.com/mAP0G5vuSp
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 27, 2025
In return, Panama’s president gifted a symbol of her nation’s warrior spirit. Tharoor called this exchange a hopeful sign of international support for India’s fight against terror.
In the end, Shashi Tharoor’s message was firm and clear: terrorism will be met with a price, and India’s era of restraint is over.
