India’s Operation Sindoor is not an act of war but a measured response to a vile act of terror, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday, as he led an all-party delegation to Brazil. In a firm diplomatic message, Tharoor underscored that the Pahalgam terror attack — which claimed 26 lives — was aimed at destabilising Kashmir’s booming economy and sowing communal discord across India.

“The whole idea was to signal that we are not trying to start a war,” Tharoor told Brazilian Ambassador Celso Amorim in Brasilia. “We are just conducting retribution for an act of terror, which was a really vile act… It was horrendous and meant to do the maximum possible damage to India.”

Tharoor, speaking as head of the visiting delegation, emphasised India’s stand against terrorism and the importance of rallying global understanding in the wake of increasing cross-border attacks.

“The reason we have come is very much to seek greater sympathy and understanding on the part of our friends, and also countries that are not necessarily our friends… but you are in the high friend category,” Tharoor said, referring to Brazil’s recent outreach and President Lula da Silva’s personal phone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the attack.

PAKISTAN’S ROLE UNDER SCRUTINY

India has accused Pakistan-based terror groups of orchestrating the Pahalgam attack, with The Resistance Front (TRF) — a proxy for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)—claiming responsibility. Tharoor highlighted India’s ongoing efforts to expose the TRF’s role at the United Nations, where India has repeatedly provided intelligence to the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee.

“LeT has created this front called the Resistance Front,” Tharoor explained. “We have been reporting about the Resistance Front to the UN Sanctions Committee time after time… but when we encouraged our friends in the Security Council to name the group in the April 25 statement, Pakistan — sadly with China’s support — had the name removed.”

He lamented that neither India nor Brazil currently sits on the Security Council, a gap he suggested should be closed. “We have to change that situation. Both of us should be on the Council together,” he added.

India had previously informed the UN about LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating through smaller entities like TRF, pointing out in its May and November 2024 reports how these fronts act as facades for banned terrorist groups. The consistent denial of acknowledgment in international statements—allegedly due to Pakistani and Chinese pressure—has sparked calls for more assertive global engagement.

“There was no action to bring the perpetrators to justice, or even to look for them in Pakistan,” Tharoor said. “So finally, the government decided to send a strong message.”

Operation Sindoor, he stressed, is that message. Not a declaration of war, but a declaration that terror will not go unanswered.

The Indian delegation landed in Brazil on June 1 and was received by Charge d’Affaires Sandeep Kumar Kujur at the Indian Embassy in Brasilia. After meetings in Brazil, the delegation is set to continue its diplomatic outreach with a visit to the United States starting tomorrow.

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