India has no interest in war but terrorists must not go unpunished: Shashi Tharoor in Panama

Shashi Tharoor-led delegation meets Panama Assembly President to discuss India's stance against terrorism and cross-border attacks.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor-led delegation on Tuesday (May 27, 2025; local time) held a meeting with Panama Assembly President Dana Castaneda, where the Thiruvananthapuram MP conveyed India’s resolute position against terrorism while informing the others about Pahalgam terror attack.

Mr Tharoor also emphasised the unity of all political parties for the national purpose and stated that India will not tolerate cross-border terrorism and will take action against perpetrators.

“We all come from different political backgrounds and different parts of India, but we are united in national purpose... After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, we waited to see whether the Pakistan government would take any action against the perpetrators of the terrible crime. When nothing was clearly being done, two weeks later, on the 7th of May, we attacked the known headquarters of terrorist bases inside Pakistan,” he said.

“We had no interest in starting a war, but we felt that a terrorist act must not go unpunished,” Mr Tharoor added.

Mr Tharoor further sought an understanding in advance with the Panama government in case if another terrorist attack happens in India.

“We do believe, unfortunately, that this problem (terrorist attacks sponsored by Pakistan) is not over and if there is another terrorist incident tomorrow, we believe that we will not have to come back here, we will have your understanding in advance,” Mr Tharoor said.

Panama Assembly President Dana Castaneda assured that Panama has a strong law against terrorism. “We have a very strong law against terrorism”, Ms Castaneda replied.