Colombia has withdrawn its earlier statement offering condolences to Pakistan following India’s military strikes in response to a terror attack in Kashmir, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Saturday.
Tharoor, who is currently leading an Indian all-party parliamentary delegation in Bogotá, expressed satisfaction with the reversal after raising concerns that the original message from Colombia did not reflect the nature of the conflict.
“There is no equivalence possible between terrorists on the one hand and innocent civilians on the other,” Tharoor said. “There is no equivalence between those who attack our country and those who defend their own country, and our only disappointment with the earlier statement by Colombia was that it seemed to have overlooked this difference. We’re very pleased to learn that that statement has been withdrawn.”
Tharoor on Friday had over the Colombian government’s “heartfelt condolences over the loss of lives in Pakistan, rather than sympathising with the victims of terror”.
| Colombia officially withdraws its earlier statement that it issued expressing condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes; earlier, , who is leading the all-party delegation, raised concern and said – we (India) were a little…
— ANI (@ANI)
India launched Operation Sindoor earlier this month, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in the wake of an April 22 attack in and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. The strikes lasted several days and concluded with a ceasefire agreement between Indian and Pakistani military officials on May 10.
Colombia’s Vice Foreign Minister, Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, appeared to backtrack on the earlier condolence statement during talks with the Indian delegation. “We are very confident that with the explanation that we received today and the detailed information that we now have regarding the real situation, the conflict, and what happened in Kashmir, we can also continue the dialogue,” she said.
Tejasvi Surya, a MP who is part of the delegation, welcomed Colombia’s shift in position. “The Vice Minister as well as the authorities saw merit in our arguments and were gracious enough to withdraw the statement that they had made earlier. They also expressed full sympathy and understanding with India’s position.”
At a media briefing in Bogotá, Tharoor expanded on India’s stance against terrorism and highlighted the objectives of Operation Sindoor. The Indian delegation also met with Colombia’s former president, César Gaviria, who now leads the Liberal Party — the largest political group in the country’s National Assembly. “He was strongly supportive of India’s fight against terrorism and undertook to say so publicly as well,” Tharoor said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Other members of the Indian delegation include Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (), Shambhavi (LJP), GM Harish Balayogi (TDP), and former Indian ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
