Shashi Tharoor: India not concerned about Pak-China ties, our quarrel is about cross-border terror

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor said that India was least bothered about the Pakistan's partnership with China and that the quarrel with the neighboring nation was only about the perpetration of terror from across the border.

“We are quite conscious that China supplies 81 per cent of all Pakistani defence equipment. Defence is a polite word, Pakistani military equipment. Much of it is not for defence but for attack. Every sovereign country has the right to do that,” Tharoor said in Bogotá, Colombia.

The Tharoor-led all-party parliamentary delegation arrived in Colombia to convey India's strong resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms.

"The single largest project in China's Belt and Road Initiative is in Pakistan, the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is a highway corridor connecting China to a port in southwestern Pakistan that permits goods to be transported relatively quickly and economically to western China. We are aware of that, and our concern is not with the rights of the Pakistani people to pursue development. Of course, they may do so, including with the partnership with China. Our quarrel is only with the perpetration of terror against us," Tharoor said.

Earlier, India's Ambassador to Colombia Vanlalhuma welcomed the delegation, marking the start of a meaningful engagement to convey India’s resolute stance against terrorism, the Embassy of India in Colombia said in a post on X.

During the course of their stay in Bogota, the delegation will be interacting with the Members of Congress, Ministers and other key interlocutors in think tanks and media.

‘India a force of constructive progress’

"We are a country which has really been a force for constructive progress in the world... We certainly hope that other governments will tell those who give safe haven and protection to terrorists to stop doing so. That would be very helpful indeed, as well in the Security Council or outside it," Tharoor said.

The group is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.

India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.

(With PTI inputs)