'Pakistan repeatedly attack us': Shashi Tharoor in Panama says 'India continues to bear pain, grief, wounds and losses'

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading an all-party parliamentary delegation to Panama, used a public address to the Indian community to strongly condemn Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism targeting India.

Speaking at the Sociedad Hindostana de Panama, Tharoor said that India’s peaceful intentions have not been respected by Pakistan. “Our desire to be left alone has not been reciprocated. They have attacked us repeatedly because they want territory that we control, and which is part of our sovereign borders,” he said.

He reminded the audience that India has endured nearly four decades of terror attacks, beginning with the conflict in Kashmir in 1989.

"We have suffered attack after attack for almost four decades now. Going back from the first attacks in Kashmir in 1989 onwards, we have seen repeated outrageous civilian victims," Tharoor said. "It is just not acceptable for us to continue to bear the pain, the grief, the wounds, the losses, and then merely go and tell the international community, look what is happening to us. Please help us. Please put pressure on the perpetrators," he added.

#WATCH | Panama City | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "...Some women cried out The terrorists killed me too, and they said, 'No, go back, tell what happened to you. We heard, we heard their cries and India decided that the colour of the Sindoor, the vermilion colour on the… pic.twitter.com/VOcr3hq3RO

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025

Tharoor highlighted India’s shift in its counter-terrorism approach, referring to the 2016 surgical strikes in Uri and the 2019 Balakot air strikes. “For the first time, we crossed the Line of Control, and later even the international border, striking terror bases deep in Pakistani territory,” he said. He stressed that India’s actions sent a clear message to those behind the attacks: there will be consequences.

He also defended Operation Sindoor, launched after the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 Indian women were widowed.

"Some women cried out The terrorists killed me too, and they said, 'No, go back, tell what happened to you. We heard, we heard their cries and India decided that the colour of the Sindoor, the vermilion colour on the forehead of our women, will also match the colour of the blood of the killers, the perpetrators, the attackers..."

The multi-party MPs’ delegation visited the Indian Cultural Centre in Panama City and offered devotions at the beautiful temple there. It was moving to see our Muslim colleague Sarfraz Ahmed join his Hindu and Sikh colleagues at the temple. As he later told the audience, “jab… pic.twitter.com/7sPcB6uSCD

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 28, 2025

Tharoor also met Panama’s national assembly president Dana Castaneda. After the meeting he said, “When we presented the president with a shawl from Kashmir, where the Pahalgam tragedy occurred, she gave us a symbol of Panama’s warriors in return. She said she hopes we will fight terrorism with that same strength, and I thought that was an excellent message to leave the national assembly with.”

#WATCH | Panama City | "...When we presented the President with a shawl from Kashmir, where the tragedy (Pahalgam terror attack) happened. She, in turn, gave us a symbol of the warriors of Panama, saying she hopes that we will fight against terror with that strength and that I… pic.twitter.com/gEQ3emzHxF

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025

The delegation observed a moment of silence in memory of the Pahalgam victims. Alongside Tharoor were MPs including Tejasvi Surya, Milind Deora, and former US ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora warned Pakistan against provoking India. “We are here to give a message—whether it's Kashmir or Mumbai, if you attack us, we will respond,” Deora said.

BJP MP Shashank Mani added that while India does not seek war, it will stay firm on its path to development and not be derailed by external threats. “We showed patience for years. But when it went too far, we showed strength. We don’t seek war, but we also won’t let anyone derail our path towards Viksit Bharat,” he said.