Shashi Tharoor Responds To His Son Ishaan After He Asked A Question In The US About The Pahalgam Attack

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is currently leading a high-level delegation on anti-terrorism efforts as part of India’s diplomatic outreach in Washington DC. During a media interaction, Tharoor was caught off guard, though amused, when his own son and journalist Ishaan Tharoor, stood up to ask a pointed question about Pahalgam terror. With a characteristic wit, Tharoor quipped about the unexpected moment before addressing the query with seriousness.

Shashi Tharoor faces a surprise question from his son and journalist, Ishaan Tharoor, during US visit

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is currently leading an all-party delegation to the United States, had a lighthearted yet meaningful moment during an interaction when his son, Ishaan Tharoor, stood up to ask him a question. Ishaan, who is a journalist with The Washington Post, was attending the event in his professional capacity. As he picked up the mic, Tharoor jokingly said,

“That shouldn’t be allowed, this is my son.”

To say that this drew chuckle from the audience would not be so wrong. Ishaan, smiling, introduced himself and quipped that he was mostly there to greet his father before he moved on to his next engagement.

“Ishaan Tharoor from The Washington Post. Definitely asking a question from personal capacity and mostly to say Hi before you go off to your next engagements.”

However, he then went on to ask a serious question regarding the international response to Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack in India.

Ishaan asked his father,

“I am curious, have any of the government of west asked you to show evidence of Pakistan’s culpability in the intial attack and what do you have to say about the repeated denial of Pakistan having any hand in the initial attack.”

Caught off guard but clearly proud, Tharoor responded warmly, saying,

“I’m very glad you raised this. I didn’t plant it, I promise you. This guy does this to his dad.”

He then addressed the question seriously, noting that no government they met during the US visit asked India for proof of Pakistan’s role in the attack. He emphasized that while some media outlets did raise the question, governments did not.

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“India would not have done this without convincing evidence,” Tharoor firmly stated, before going on to list three strong reasons behind India’s stance.

Three strong reasons given by Shahi Tharoor for Pakistan’s role in the Pahalgam terror attack

In response to his son Ishaan Tharoor’s question during the US visit, Shashi Tharoor laid out three strong reasons pointing to Pakistan’s role in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. First, he referred to Pakistan’s long and consistent history of terror attacks against India, stretching over 37 years, always followed by denial. He cited,

“Mumbai attacks- They denied having anything to do with it. One of the terrorists was captured alive. His name, his identity, and his address are in Pakistan.“

He then reminded the audience,

“Pakistan didn’t know, allegedly, where Osama bin Laden was until he was found in a Pakistani safe house right next to an army camp.”

He emphasized,

“We know what Pakistan is all about. They will dispatch terrorists. They will deny they did so until they are actually caught with red hands.”

The second reason Tharoor gave was that the Resistance Front (TRF), a well-known proxy front of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack within 45 minutes or so. He described,

“The world hadn’t even learned about this (Pahalgam attack) when they (TRF) claimed credit, so that was itself a smoking gun.”

He also noted how the claim was later withdrawn, likely after instructions from handlers, but it had already been seen by the world.

Tharoor’s third point was the funeral ceremonies conducted in Pakistan for terrorists including members of key organisations, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, killed in India’s retaliatory strikes during Operation Sindoor. He said, underscoring the state’s complicity,

“Photographs have emerged on social media showing Pakistani generals and police officers in uniform attending these funerals.”

With these three pieces of evidence, Tharoor firmly stated that India had acted only after being fully convinced of Pakistan’s role.

Tharoor justifies India’s Operation Sindoor with strong Intelligence backing

After listing three solid reasons pointing to Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack, Shashi Tharoor further reinforced India’s position by citing credible intelligence inputs. He revealed that Indian intelligence agencies had identified four perpetrators involved in the attack, two of whom were Pakistani nationals, while the other two were trained in Pakistan. This, he said, left little room for doubt about who was behind the operation.

Tharoor firmly stated,

“India is not a country that would take military action without some very solid basis for doing so. This was not some random terror attack.”

He explained that although there were 24 terror attacks originating from Pakistan last year, none provoked such a response from India. The Pahalgam incident was different. He added,

“This (Pahalgam attack) showed all the hallmarks of a sophisticated, planned, deliberate operation with reconnaissance, intelligence work with a modus operandi worked out… this cynical exercise of asking people their religion and shooting them between the eyes. This is not an ordinary terrorist or bearded fanatic blowing himself up outside a supermarket.”

He concluded by finally stating that,

“This is a serious quasi-military-style operation and it required a military response.”

#WATCH | Washington DC: On a question asked by his son about whether any country had asked the delegation for evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack and about Pakistan’s repeated denials of any role in the attack, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, “I’m very glad… pic.twitter.com/RR0tcVOwpU

— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2025

Tharoor’s remarks very well highlights how Indian government’s decision to launch Operation Sindoor was not an emotional or impulsive reaction but a calculated move backed by intelligence and hard evidence.

What are your thoughts on the response made by Shahi Tharoor when his son asked about Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack? Do share your thouughts via the comments below.