Washington Post journalist Ishaan Tharoor, son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, posed an uncomfortable question to his father during a press briefing in Washington DC on Thursday. The younger Tharoor nervously inquired whether any nations had challenged their delegation about evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the Pahalgam attack, given Islamabad's repeated denials.
The room erupted in laughter as the senior Tharoor good-naturedly protested, "That's not fair - it's my son!" before addressing the query. The Congress MP, currently leading an all-party delegation to the United States, handled his son's sharp questioning with characteristic eloquence.
Before responding, Tharoor clarified he hadn't planted the question, joking that "this guy does stories like that" in reference to his son's journalistic approach.
"Very simply, no one had any doubt, and we weren't asked for evidence," Tharoor stated. "Though the media have raised this in two or three places."
The former UN diplomat emphasised India had no alternative but to retaliate after the Pahalgam attack, saying, "Let me be very clear, India wouldn't have acted without convincing evidence." He outlined three key reasons, "First, we've observed a 37-year pattern of terror attacks originating from Pakistan, consistently met with denials. Americans remember Pakistan allegedly didn't know Osama bin Laden's whereabouts until he was found in a cantonment city safe house. The Mumbai attacks? More denials."
Tharoor added pointedly, "We understand Pakistan's modus operandi. They dispatch terrorists, then deny involvement until caught red-handed."
The cross-party delegation includes representatives from multiple Indian political parties, Shambhavi Choudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G.M. Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), along with BJP members Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya and Bhubaneswar Kalita. The group, which visited Brazil prior to the US trip, also comprises Shiv Sena's Mallikarjun Devda and Milind Deora, plus former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
Their mission focuses on briefing US stakeholders about Operation Sindoor and exposing Pakistan's role in the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
