Shashi Tharoor Says India Will Not Take First Step in Normalising Ties with Pakistan
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has stated that India no longer has the appetite to take the first step in normalising relations with Pakistan after repeated betrayals, urging Islamabad to demonstrate sincerity by dismantling terror networks operating from its soil.
Speaking at the launch of Whither India-Pakistan Relations Today?, an anthology edited by former ambassador Surendra Kumar, Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram MP, recalled that every Indian initiative—ranging from Jawaharlal Nehru’s 1950 pact with Liaqat Ali Khan to Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 1999 bus journey to Lahore and Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit—had been “betrayed” by hostility from across the border.
“Given Pakistan’s track record, the onus is on them. They must take the first step to show genuine intent by dismantling terror infrastructure on their soil,” Tharoor said. “Why can’t they shut down these terror camps? Everyone knows where they are. The UN committee has a list of 52 individuals, organisations, and locations in Pakistan. It’s not as if they’re unaware. Arrest these elements, close the camps, and show seriousness. India will reciprocate once they act—but we will not take the first step now.”
Reflecting on the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Tharoor highlighted that India had provided overwhelming evidence of Pakistani involvement, including live intercepts and dossiers, yet “not one mastermind has been prosecuted.” He noted India’s extraordinary restraint in the aftermath, but successive provocations left the country with little choice, leading to the 2016 surgical strikes and ‘Operation Sindoor’.
“In my 2012 book Pax Indica, I warned that another Mumbai-scale attack with clear Pakistani complicity might make the restraint shown in 2008 impossible. That is precisely what happened. No democratic government, especially India, with its long history of betrayals by Pakistan, could remain passive while its civilians and holidaymakers are attacked,” he said.
Tharoor also defended India’s stance on the cessation of hostilities with Pakistan in May, following the military conflict, asserting that it was India’s successful strikes—and not US President Donald Trump—that prompted Pakistan to seek a ceasefire. “The successful operations on 9-10 May, and India’s interception of Pakistani missile attempts on the morning of 10 May, were decisive. This led to the Pakistani DGMO contacting his Indian counterpart to request peace, not Mr Trump,” he added.
Emphasising the importance of stable borders, Tharoor cited examples of former adversaries becoming partners, including France and Germany post-World War II and the United States with Vietnam.
The discussion also featured former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, former Indian ambassador to Pakistan T.C.A. Raghavan, ex-Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, and academician Amitabh Mattoo.
