Colombia supports India war against terrorism, withdraws condoling Pakistan

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON – Colombia on Friday has withdrawn its statement where it sympathized with Pakistan over the loss of lives in a significant accomplishment for India in its global outreach effort to expose Pakistan and to convey its zero tolerance against Terrorism.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading the all-party delegation to the Americas during his Bogota visit, expressed dismay over the South American country’s stance during a press conference on Thursday.

He said that India was disappointed with the Colombian government for expressing condolences over the loss of lives in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, rather than sympathizing with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

“We were a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathizing with the victims of terrorism,” said Tharoor.

He added “We will say to our friends in Colombia, there can be no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who resist them. There can be no equivalence between those who attack and those who defend. We are only exercising our right of self-defence, and if there is any misunderstanding here, on this core, we are here to dispel any such misunderstanding”.

He met with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio in Bogota, said that “we are very confident with the explanation that we received today and the detailed information that we now have regarding the real situation, the conflict, and what happened in Kashmir, we can also continue the dialogue…”.

Tharoor appreciated Colombian position on the matter after explaining India’s view and position,

He said that “The Vice Minister very graciously mentioned that they have withdrawn the statement that we had expressed concern about and that they fully understand our position on the matter, which is something we really value,” said Tharoor on Colombia withdrawing its earlier statement.

“Began today with an excellent meeting with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, and her senior colleagues dealing with the Asia-Pacific. I expressed India’s view of recent events and voiced disappointment at Colombia’s statement on 8 May, conveying “heartfelt condolences” to Pakistan. The Minister assured me that the statement had been withdrawn and that our position was now properly understood and strongly supported”, tweeted Tharoor after meeting with the vice minister.

He is leading the multi-party delegation to the Americas to Panama and Guyana,

Tharoor and his delegation arrived in Colombia in an effort of India’s global outreach to convey India’s zero tolerance against terrorism.

The delegation will proceed to Brazil and the United States.