Operation Sindoor: A multi-party delegation of Indian Members of Parliament, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, met US Vice President JD Vance in Washington DC on Thursday. The theme of the high-level dialogue was cooperation in the counter-terrorism domain, following the recent Pahalgam terror attack and India’s military response, Operation Sindoor.
Vice President Vance, who was visiting India at the time of the April 22 attack, has remained closely engaged in India-US coordination efforts, making him a pivotal figure in the Trump administration’s response to the crisis.
Tharoor says interaction with Vance was “very positive”
After the meeting, Shashi Tharoor briefed the media, calling the interaction “excellent” and “very positive.” He said, “Vice President Vance expressed complete understanding of India’s right to respond to the Pahalgam attack through Operation Sindoor. He was warm, welcoming, and supportive of our actions. We also discussed future collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence.”
Tharoor emphasised that the delegation received “tremendous positive energy” from the meeting, particularly on the matter of strengthening bilateral ties beyond security. “We had a wonderful meeting. We got our messages across and received clear support in return,” he added.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor said the discussions were “comprehensive,” covering a broad array of critical issues, from counter-terrorism to advancing technological cooperation. Describing the exchange as “constructive and productive” with a strong “meeting of minds,” he highlighted the growing convergence in India-US strategic interests.
No equivalence between terrorists and their victims: Tharoor
Further speaking about the meeting the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, “The meeting with VP Vance was very clear. Mediation implies an equivalence between two parties and there can be no equivalence between terrorists and their victims… I think the message has been clearly understood.”
“The meeting with Vice President Vance was outstanding. Very clear. We made our position amply clear on this question of mediation. Vance fully understood our points. The main point is that mediation implies an equivalence between two parties and there can be no equivalence between terrorists and their victims, between those who are offering safe havens to terrorists and the multiparty democracy; on the one hand, the place from which attacks are coming, another country which is in the process of defending itself, exercising its right to survive; there can be no equivalence. Therefore, we suggested that it would not be an appropriate way of looking at it. The message has been very clearly understood by the Vice President and certainly at other levels of the system. I think the message has been clearly understood…”
The Indian Embassy in the US also released a statement confirming that the conversation focused on deepening the India-US partnership, especially in the context of counter-terrorism cooperation.
Vance’s role in India-US security engagement
Just a day before the Pahalgam attack, JD Vance and his family had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Following the attack, both US President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance had extended condolences to the Indian Prime Minister. Notably, on May 9, Vance reportedly called Modi to share intelligence on Pakistan’s plans for a large-scale offensive, making his involvement in subsequent developments highly significant.
The meeting with Vice President Vance marks the final leg of a multi-country diplomatic tour undertaken by the Indian parliamentary delegation. Before arriving in Washington, the delegation visited Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil. Apart from Tharoor, the team includes MPs Sarfaraz Ahmad, Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Milind Deora, and Tejasvi Surya.
India’s former ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, also part of the delegation, called the meeting “excellent, comprehensive, constructive, and productive,” echoing Tharoor’s sentiments and signaling a renewed momentum in India-US diplomatic and security ties.