Shashi Tharoor, the Indian opposition lawmaker who is currently leading an Operation Sindoor outreach delegation to the US, has likened Pakistan to a neighbour who offers to talk after ‘unleashing rottweilers at your children’.
He said the Indian delegation made it clear to the US side that New Delhi won’t engage with Islamabad with “a gun pointed to our head”.
Tharoor’s statement comes amidst reports that Pakistan is urging Washington DC to arrange talks between the two South Asian neighbours.
Tharoor’s ‘rottweilers’ remark
While speaking on possibility of direct talks between Delhi and Islamabad, Tharoor compared Pakistan to a neighbour who “unleashes a rottweiler to bite your children and do worse and then says ’let’s talk.”
“Talks are not possible unless Pakistan locks up the rottweilers (terrorists) or puts them to sleep”, Tharoor warned.
Tharoor also pushed back against prospects of Washington mediating peace talks between the two nuclear-armed nations, saying the issue of Kashmir was strictly bilateral.
“We have never particularly wanted to ask anyone to mediate,” he stressed.
Indian delegation meets JD Vance
Earlier on Thursday (June 5), the Indian delegation held a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance to convey India’s stance.
Vance was in India when Pakistan-backed terrorists carried out the massacre of Hindu tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
“Excellent meeting with Vice President @JDVance today in Washington D.C. with our delegation. We had comprehensive discussions covering a wide array of critical issues, from counter-terrorism efforts to enhancing technological cooperation. A truly constructive & productive exchange for strengthening India-US strategic partnership, with a great meeting of minds,” Tharoor said after the meeting.
When tensions escalated following India’s May 7 strikes on terror sites in Pakistan, Vance initially said it was “not out business” to help defuse tensions. However, the US later jumped into the fray, with US President Donald Trump claiming he helped both nations reach a ceasefire. India later disputed the claim, clarifying that ‘mutual understanding’ was worked out bilaterally.