‘If you want to be a peace ambassador…’ Shashi Tharoor slams Pakistan over US-Iran peace talks

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said regarding the US-Iran peace talks, “We hope for peace. The war has affected us. India’s kitchens have also been affected. We would like the war to end. Natural gas production has been significantly impacted. Whatever comes from there is affecting our factories as well. It is in our country’s interest that this war ends. Whoever brings peace, whether from Pakistan or anyone else, we just want peace.”

He further said that I haven’t seen the resolution that came from the CWC yesterday because I left early. Our government leaders, the PM, EAM, and the Petroleum Minister, are in touch with the people there. Whether peace comes or not, it doesn’t matter who brings it. If peace fails, we will have to play our role in the future. There must be peace in our region. We cannot afford to be passive; we must be active. Sometimes this role also requires silence. We are doing very little in the region. Three of our ministers have gone to that region, and our role is important.

The Congress MP said that given Pakistan’s relationship with Washington, only Pakistan can do this. Iran is Pakistan’s neighbor. Pakistan has 40 million Shia people. Their involvement is different. If the US launches further attacks, those refugees will come to Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan has a different stake in this issue. Our competition with Pakistan is different. Their realities are different, and ours are different.

He further said that they will become peace ambassadors on a topic that hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean that every bad thing they’ve done, of which our country has presented evidence to the world. We’ve presented ample evidence of what happened in Mumbai alone, will it disappear? Absolutely not. If you want to be peace ambassadors in the future, you must freeze the terrorist infrastructure, terrorist camps, and their accounts. Arrest them. After doing all this, we’ll consider that you’ve truly changed your mind.

Tharoor said that history keeps changing. Let Pakistan do what it wants, it would be good if peace comes, but that doesn’t mean we will forget Pakistan’s actions. Today, we don’t need to talk much about this because we want peace. At this time, India should play a constructive role. Our country’s history is very old, our thinking should not be narrow-minded. We should not talk like small-minded people. Let peace prevail. We will not forget our issues; let the peace talks continue.