Congress MP Shashi Tharoor recently delivered a pointed speech in Guyana, addressing Pakistan's longstanding claims over Kashmir and India's response to cross-border terrorism. During a media interaction, Tharoor emphasized that India is a status quo power, focused on economic growth and technological advancement, and has no territorial ambitions in Pakistan. He stated, "India is entirely happy to be left alone by Pakistan, and it'll leave Pakistan alone" .
Multi-Party Indian Delegation In Guyana Backs Tharoor’s Tough Message On Terrorism :: https://www.oneindia.com/international/multi-party-indian-delegation-in-guyana-backs-tharoor-s-tough-message-on-terrorism-4164031.html?ref=DMDesc
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00:00Thank you so very much, Mr. Speaker. Mansoor Bhai, it's really a pleasure to be here.
00:05We have been very touched by the warm hospitality extended by the government and people of Guyana
00:11at such a busy time for you. Your 59th Independence Day is today.
00:15I must say that if you had come to India, you might not find it so convenient to receive a foreign delegation on Independence Day.
00:22So we are really touched and honored by the warmth of your welcome at this difficult and busy time.
00:30As you know, Mr. Speaker, we are proud to be associated with the celebrations of your freedom.
00:37And I was very struck when the president in his speech spoke about the importance of resisting certain kinds of assaults without fear and with determination.
00:49That's very much the spirit in which we too have come.
00:52Because our country had to face an evil, tragic assault on innocent citizens enjoying a tourist holiday in our northern territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
01:07And this was not a one-off incident, but in many ways built upon a series, decades of this kind of thing being done,
01:18in which the most notorious was the assault in 2008, which was our 9-11, as we call it, 26-11, 26 November 2008,
01:27when in Mumbai, in five locations, 170 people were mercilessly gunned down.
01:33And from then onwards, we have attempted to persuade the world that not only must we issue condolences and sympathies when people lose their lives,
01:44for which we are very grateful, but we must also take resolute action, not just against the perpetrators themselves.
01:52Very often, these perpetrators, in the case of Mumbai, all but one, were gunned down in the course of their evil actions.
01:59So not only against the perpetrators, who we must bring to justice always,
02:03but also against those who finance, sponsor, guide, arm, equip, train, and direct them to come and do this kind of awful act.
02:13And for us, therefore, we have come on this mission to seek your understanding,
02:20to address any questions or misgivings you may have,
02:23and to request that particularly now, in your own political opinion,
02:29and with the important role that Guyana is playing in the United Nations Security Council,
02:34that we hope that we can count on your understanding and sympathy in solidarity with those who,
02:41as your president said, are determined to stand up without fear and with determination.
02:47Our nation has made it very clear in recent weeks that we have had enough,
02:54that they will no longer be permitted to cross a border, kill our innocent people,
03:02and walk back without, with impunity.
03:05That is not going to be happening anymore.
03:07As far as we are concerned, we are also not going to give in to their evil designs,
03:12which include trying to disturb the peace, tranquility, and economy of Jammu and Kashmir,
03:19where tourism was a very major mainstay, and that is, at the moment, the first target,
03:24the first victim, apart from the human lives lost.
03:28Second, there was clearly an attempt, through religious profiling,
03:32to create a backlash within the rest of India against one particular community.
03:38I'm proud to say India did not fall victim to that and stayed united and rose as one,
03:46from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, north to the south, east to the west.
03:51We have stayed united and determined and resolute against the horrors of terrorism.
03:57Their third attempt, very clearly, was to somehow bring international attention
04:02to their so-called grievances, which are, in fact, the illegitimate desires
04:12of our neighbouring country to claim territory that they don't control.
04:19And let me say that this is a problem that need not exist.
04:23Many, many attempts have been made over many decades to settle this issue,
04:28because we, frankly, want to get on.
04:33We want to get on with our development, Mr. Speaker.
04:36We have had a challenge until 10, 15 years ago.
04:40There were more than a couple of hundred million people living below the poverty line.
04:44We want to bring them into decent standards of life and hope.
04:47We want to grow our economy, which, for some years now,
04:51has been the fastest-growing free-market democracy in the world.
04:55We have also got a strong technological base,
04:59which really makes us focus on the 21st century and the future,
05:03rather than being buried in the unresolved grievances of the past.
05:07But having said that, we would not have wanted this issue to come and inflict itself upon us.
05:14But now that it has done so, we have responded vigorously.
05:18And I say to you, Mr. Speaker, our thinking very simply is this.
05:23If our neighbours will leave us alone to focus on our development,
05:27to focus on our future, we will be very happy to leave them alone.
05:31We have absolutely no designs.
05:33In fact, we are what is classically called a status quo power.
05:37We'll be happy to continue with the geopolitical status quo.
05:41Unfortunately, our neighbour doesn't share that assumption.
05:44Our neighbour is a revisionist power.
05:48They want something they don't have.
05:50And if they can't claim it through conventional war,
05:52they are willing to use what's called subconventional means,
05:54namely deploying terrorist militants, infiltrating them across the border,
05:58and, frankly, making victims of people who are not expecting to fight
06:04or be caught up in a fight, who are literally just gone for a tourist vacation.
06:08This needed a response.
06:10Our government gave such a response.
06:12But it did so in a very calibrated, measured, precise manner.
06:17It wasn't interested in saying we're going to war with the whole country.
06:19We are simply going to assault specific sites that have been known and identified
06:25as belonging to housing-basic organizations that are listed by the United Nations Sanctions Committee
06:32and organizations which are on the wanted terrorist list of the U.S. government as well.
06:37And we hit them.
06:38And we hit them hard.
06:40But we were very careful to do so at night when there were no civilians likely to go about
06:44to minimize collateral damage.
06:46We were very careful to avoid any government sites, any military sites, any civilian locations.
06:52Nonetheless, Pakistan chose to respond initially with indiscriminate artillery shelling,
06:57which killed 19 civilians on our side of the border,
07:01including people in a Gurdwara, a Sikh temple, and in a Christian convent, a Carmel convent.
07:07And then, sadly, they added to this a battery of drones and missiles targeting everything
07:16from civilian airports to homes to vehicles to airfields and so on.
07:21I'm proud to say that our air defenses proved more than equal to the task.
07:25Minimal damage was done.
07:27We also responded in kind to the artillery shelling.
07:29And we also responded with strikes across the border in response to their attacks on us.
07:36So the message, again, was clear.
07:37If you attack, we will respond.
07:40If you will hold your fire, we will hold our fire, because we are not seeing our actions
07:44as the first salvo in a protracted war.
07:47This message was finally understood after 88 hours of fighting.
07:52And the Pakistani Director General of Military Operations, called his Indian counterpart,
07:58asked for the cessation of firing, to which we agreed with alacrity,
08:03because we didn't want to prolong the conflict anyway.
08:06And that's where we are.
08:08Having said that, the hunt for these killers,
08:12four of whom have been identified by name and photograph, continues.
08:16The armed forces are prepared to respond in case of any future misadventure from across the border.
08:25And the Prime Minister has declared that any act of terror,
08:28and I don't think he meant any small act of terror,
08:30but any serious act of terror will be responded to as an act of war.
08:34So these are the messages that our government has given to its neighbor
08:39and which we are conveying to the world at large.
08:42If you have questions or concerns, we're very happy to address them.
08:47But I do want to say, Mr. Speaker, that your welcome and your warmth of your reception
08:51has itself been deeply heartwarming and gratifying for all of us.
08:55We feel at home here in Guyana,
08:57and we were privileged to be part of your Independence Day celebrations.
09:00And we hope that just as you are determined to keep your country free and safe,
09:05so are we, and we look forward to your understanding and support
09:08in that endeavor in these trying times.
09:11Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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