Tharoor Leads Indian Delegation to The US Amidst India-Pakistan Diplomatic Faceoff. The Indian delegation’s expected visit to the US coincides with a similar delegation from Pakistan, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pointed out the raised interest this dual presence might create, suggesting a potential face-off between him and Bhutto. The Indian and Pakistani multi-party delegations, led by Shashi Tharoor and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, respectively, are expected to be in Washington at the same time on Wednesday. To know more about the topic “Tharoor Leads Indian Delegation to US Amidst India-Pakistan Diplomatic Faceoff,” read the complete article.
Tharoor Leads Indian Delegation to US Amidst India-Pakistan Diplomatic Faceoff
Both India and Pakistan are sending delegations to the U.S. this week as diplomatic efforts pick up steam. Their main objective is to impact the views of American legislators and officials. From India, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is leading an all-party delegation. They are going back to Washington on June 3 after a tour across Latin America. On the other hand, Pakistan’s delegation is led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Their trip starts in New York and Washington and will later go further to London and Brussels, according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
“In Washington, we”ll have the interesting phenomenon of the Pakistani delegation in America, and almost exactly the same days… Tomorrow they will be in Washington, while we are in Washington on the same date. So there’s going to be perhaps an increase in interest because there are two duelling delegations in the same city,” Tharoor said while speaking to news agency ANI. Tharoor also displayed confidence in driving home India’s message to the intended audiences regardless of the presence of the Pakistani delegation in the city.
“It’s a challenging environment. America is a very crowded media space, the world’s news generator. Therefore, our story may not be at the top of their minds. But if we can get the attention of those who care about South Asia, those who care about India, and those who care about terrorism, we can get our message across very, very easily,” he said. “It’s no accident that the Pakistanis have also sent a delegation abroad, but they’re not going to as many countries as the Indian delegations are. They’re focusing on what they consider a few capitals, namely, Washington, Brussels, and London. That seems to be the thrust of the Pakistani effort. We have gone to all those capitals and more,” Tharoor added.
“We have enormous respect for the American presidency, and we will speak with that respect in mind.” We had consistently said from the very beginning on May 7th that we are not interested in prolonging the conflict.
It’s About Development, Not War.
Tharoor stressed that India never desired a war with Pakistan. “We’ve always said this is not about starting a war. It is about responding to terrorism. If Pakistan hadn’t reacted, neither would we. We want peace and development,” he explained. He also denied that the US mediated the end of tensions. “No one needed to persuade us to stop. We had already made it clear we wanted to stop. If there was any persuasion, it was probably aimed at Pakistan,” he added.
Pakistan’s Diplomatic Copying
Tharoor claimed that Pakistan’s concurrent visit was not a coincidence but a reactionary move to India’s global marketing campaign. While India’s delegations have stopped by multiple global capitals, including Washington, Brussels, and London, Pakistan’s diplomatic push appears limited in scope.
It’s no accident they sent a delegation now. But they haven’t gone to as many countries as we have. Their focus is narrow,” Tharoor remarked. Pakistan’s delegation, led by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, was tasked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in May to present Islamabad’s perspective internationally, particularly in Western capitals.
India’s Wider Reach
Tharoor highlighted that while Pakistan’s delegation is only visiting a few capitals, like Washington, Brussels, and London, the Indian delegation has travelled to more places. “They’re focusing on key cities, but we’ve covered those and more,” he said.
MPs from various political parties are part of the nine-member Indian delegation, demonstrating the country’s democratic and cohesive stance. Apart from Tharoor, the team has Sarfaraz Ahmad, Ganti Harish Madhur, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Tejasvi Surya, and former Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
