India can talk to Pakistan if it takes significant action against terrorism: Shashi Tharoor

The problem in holding talks with Pakistan is not the language but finding a common vision for decency and peace Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday stressing that New Delhi can engage in dialogue with Islamabad if it takes significant action against the infrastructure of terrorism that is visible everywhere in the countryTharoor who is leading an allparty parliamentary delegation to Brazil also said his team successfully conveyed Indias message against terrorism to the Latin American countries including to those who may have had some misunderstandingsThis is what we keep telling our interlocutors If Pakistan is as innocent as they claim to be why do they give safe haven to wanted terrorists Why are they able to live peacefully to conduct training campsand radicalise further people to equip arms and get people to practice their arms and Kalashnikovs Tharoor told PTI VideosHe said the problem in talking to Pakistan is not the language but finding a common vision for decency and peace You crack down on this infrastructure of terrorism that is visible everywhere in your country Then of course we can talk he saidWe can talk to them in Hindustani We can talk to them in Punjabi We can talk to them in English There is no problem in finding common ground with Pakistan The problem is finding a common vision for decency for peace We want to be left in peace to grow and develop They dont want to leave us alone They want to harass us They want to undermine us he said They want to cut us this whole bleeding to death India by 1000 cuts Theyre not going to bleed to death so easily Better forget that idea he addedOn another question whether India hopes that Brazil which is hosting the 11th BRICS Parliamentary Forum may issue a statement on terrorism against Indian citizens Tharoor said I think honestly BRICS has a different agenda Im not saying that they may not want to express solidarity I mean thats really not my briefI dont know and I dont even know if its in the draft that theyre working on alreadyAs far as the other issues youre concerned you know international forums are not our preoccupation Our preoccupation is honestly our bilateral relation to Pakistan and Pakistans complete failure to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in their country he said On a question whether nations have been recognising Indias stance against terrorism Tharoor said his delegation has been to four nationsGuyana Panama Colombia and Brazil so far and this has been very clear in all the countries weve been toAnd I would say in all four countries weve had a very clear success if thats the word I dont like to boast of success Thats for others to judge But we have got our message through very clearly including to those who may have had some misunderstandings he said referring to Colombia Earlier Tharoor had said Colombia withdrew a statement offering condolences to Pakistan for the loss of lives following Indias military strikes in response to the Pahalgam attack after his delegation explained Islamabads relentless support to crossborder terrorismAnd as a result of getting our message through we have certainly been able in my view to come back feeling that these countries understand our situation better and express full solidarity with our struggle against terrorism which is the main purpose of our trip Tharoor saidThe delegation concluded their visit with a meeting with Brazil Vice President Geraldo Alckmin The visit of the Indian parliamentary delegation concluded on a high note with a meeting with the Vice President of Brazil geraldoalckmin The delegation thanked him for Brazils firm stand against terrorism and welcomed his emphasis on deepening bilateral ties in trade defence science amp technology and other key sectors the Indian Embassy in Brazil posted on XThe Tharoorled delegation will head to Washington DC from Brazil On a question on the delegations expectations from the Washington DC visit Tharoor said My expectations are that its going to be a challenging visit We have a lot of different kinds of audiences he said Judging by some of the information floating around flying around we get some interesting and perhaps challenging questions which we will be very happy to answer he addedTharoor in a post on X said the delegation had an intense day of meetings in Brazil that gave us much to be pleased about affirmations of solidarity and goodwill for India across the board both from the highest echelons of government and from the legislature The delegation held an excellent and highly productive meeting with Senator Nelsinho Trad President of the IndiaBrazil Friendship Front and President of the Senate Foreign Affairs CommitteeDeeply appreciate his insightful understanding amp strong endorsement of Indias perspective on recent events Such solidarity strengthens the bonds between our democracies Brazil and India Tharoor said The delegation also met the new Indian Ambassador to Brazil Dinesh BhatiaAt the Ambassadors lunch had the great pleasure of meeting two venerable academic couples who have each held Indias flag aloft in the Brazilian capital for more than half a century Prof Vijayendra Kumar and his wife Devi who herself taught Hindi to Brazilians and Prof Haridas and his wide Padmaja who hail from Palakkad district and have seen my ancestral home on a visit to Kollengode Tharoor saidProf Kumar explained that aside from the diplomats there are only five Indian families in Brasilias 4 million population something I find impossible to believe he said The delegation also called on Amb Celso Amorim Head Adviser of the Special Advisory to the President of Brazil and discussed Indias position of zero tolerance to terrorismThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in 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