Tharoor's comments come as US President Donald Trump continues to claim that his administration played a role in arranging a ceasefire between India and Pakistan – assertions that New Delhi strongly denies. Indian officials maintain that it was Pakistan that first requested a halt to military action after the Pahalgam terror attack, not the other way around.
Tharoor emphasized the need to set the record straight during the delegation's final international stop in Washington. Speaking to News Agency from Brazil, he noted, "Washington is a particularly interesting case because it is a large country, a superpower with enormous influence in the world, and there are many crosscurrents of information, misinformation, and other narratives circulating. So, we have quite a lot of work to do there."
He added that the delegation plans to meet with a wide range of influential groups and individuals in the US capital. "We are engaging with a range of audiences, including government officials, senators, and congressmen on Capitol Hill. We are also meeting with think tanks and organisations specialising in foreign policy, and also the media," Tharoor explained.
The Congress MP also stressed that many countries need to understand that discussions are not possible with nations that support cross-border terrorism. Underscoring the need for global unity against terrorism, he observed, "We're looking for solidarity in our struggle against terrorism. What is very clear in these countries is that some of these issues they understand, some they don't fully understand. And the natural instinct in many countries is to say -- why not have a dialogue?"
However, Tharoor pointed out the difficulty of talking to those who are actively sending terrorists across the border. "It's very difficult to have a dialogue with people who are pointing a gun at your head, who are sending terrorists across your border. That becomes a problem," he said.
He insisted that the infrastructure of terrorism must be dismantled before any meaningful talks can happen. "The first thing should be for them to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism. And then we can see what kind of talking we can do. Stop giving safe haven to killers and murderers, and instead, arrest and prosecute them. We need a different story, but they have not been doing that in Pakistan," Tharoor stated.
Concluding his remarks, Tharoor affirmed the delegation's success in their outreach so far: "For us, in these countries, understanding our position and leaving with a sense of solidarity was important -- and that we have done."