Bogota [Colombia], May 31 (ANI): Stressing that there cannot be any dialogue with Pakistan till it decides to dismantle terror operators constructed in its country, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation, said that India understands that disputes must be settled through dialogue, but it does not believe in dialogue with a gun pointed towards its forehead.

During a discussion with thought leaders at the Columbia Council for International Relations, Tharoor highlighted that Mahatma Gandhi also believed in peace. Still, he led the freedom struggle against the British.

'I would like you to understand our perspective; we don't disagree with you about the importance of peace. We belong to the land of Mahatma Gandhi, who taught us the importance of peace- 'Ahinsa'. But at the same time, for us, peace has to be accompanied by self-respect, and freedom has to be accompanied by freedom from fear. Remember that Mahatma Gandhi was a man of peace, but he also led the freedom struggle against the British. So you don't just sit quietly and turn the other cheek, but you stand up for what is right in your belief. That is what India has exactly chosen to do while facing terrorism,' Tharoor said.

'While we understand that disputes must be settled through dialogue, we do not believe in dialogue with a gun pointed towards our forehead. When Pakistan, which has used terrorism as an instrument of state policy, actually decides to dismantle terror operators constructed in its country, then we can talk about dialogue. Till then, I am sorry we are not ready to talk to these people,' the Congress MP affirmed.

Further, the Congress MP outlined the series of developments that started from the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed.

'On April 22, we had a terror attack in Pahalgam, and it was a murderous rampage because what they did was not only to attack and kill innocent tourists on a holiday in a peaceful part of Kashmir. At the time when Kashmir was growing and prospering, our tourism doubled compared to previous years; they came and did this, and the livelihood of Kashmiris was affected. And also to create a battle in India because the killers asked the religion of each person before shooting them dead,' Shashi Tharoor said.

He asserted that India's Operation Sindoor was a clear and strong message, as only terrorist infrastructures were targeted and civilians were avoided.

'The Indian Government launched the retaliatory action, Operation Sindoor, because this murderous attack had wiped the Sindoor from the foreheads of 25 Indian women. We gave a very strong message as we struck nine known terrorist headquarters, launch pads, and bases in Pakistan. It was a very carefully calibrated and executed operation to convey the message, as we did not hit any civilian area there but only targeted known terrorist infrastructures,' the Congress MP said.

'Unfortunately, Pakistan chose to retaliate very irresponsibly with shelling on civilian areas. They killed people, children, in their homes, on the streets. The message was clear that if you hit us, we will hit you hard, and if you stop, we stop. And after 18 hours, they stopped,' he added.

Shashi Tharoor also highlighted the unity of the delegation he is leading, emphasising that it includes people from five different political parties and different religions.

'Seven MPs that I am travelling with represent five political parties, seven different states of India, three religions, and yet we are all united in one mission. The mission is to reach out to people like you and raise our concern about recent events in our country,' he said.

Tharoor is leading the multi-party delegation to the Americas. After visiting Panama and Guyana, Tharoor and his delegation arrived in Colombia on Thursday in an effort of India's global outreach to convey India's zero tolerance against terrorism. After concluding the Colombia visit, the all-party delegation will be heading to Brazil and the United States on Saturday. (ANI)