Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 20: Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday made it clear that India no longer has the appetite to take the first step in normalising relations with Pakistan, stressing that the onus lies squarely on Islamabad to prove its sincerity by dismantling terror infrastructure operating from its soil.
Tharoor was speaking at the launch of the book ‘Whither India-Pakistan Relations Today?’, edited by former ambassador Surendra Kumar.
Citing past attempts at peace, the Congress MP recalled Jawaharlal Nehru’s pact with Liaqat Ali Khan in 1950, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s bus journey to Lahore in 1999, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise Lahore visit in 2015. He said that each outreach had been “betrayed” by Pakistan through hostility and terror strikes.
“Given Pakistan’s track record, the onus is on them. Why can’t they shut down terror camps? The UN committee has listed 52 individuals and organisations in Pakistan. Everyone knows where they are. Arrest them, dismantle the networks, and then India will reciprocate,” Tharoor remarked.
Recalling the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, he pointed out that India had provided “overwhelming evidence” of Pakistan’s involvement, including dossiers and live intercepts, but “not a single mastermind has been brought to justice.”
He said India displayed “extraordinary restraint” in the aftermath of such attacks, but subsequent provocations forced strong responses such as the 2016 surgical strikes and ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Referring to his book Pax Indica (2012), Tharoor noted that he had warned India’s patience might not hold after another major terror strike with proven Pakistani complicity. “And indeed, that is exactly what happened. No democratic government in India can remain idle while its neighbour repeatedly assaults civilians and innocents,” he stressed.
At the same time, he underlined the importance of “peace and tranquillity at the borders” for India’s national interest, citing the example of reconciliation between France and Germany after World War II, and eventual US-Vietnam ties.
The panel discussion also saw participation from former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, ex-Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, former ambassador to Pakistan T C A Raghavan, and academic Amitabh Mattoo.