Big diplomatic win for India! Colombia withdraws controversial Pakistan statement, joins New Delhi's anti-terror stand

In a significant diplomatic win for India, Colombia has withdrawn its earlier statement expressing condolences over the loss of lives in Pakistan following Indian strikes. The South American nation has also expressed its strong support for India's position against terrorism.

This shift came after officials held detailed discussions with an Indian all-party delegation currently visiting the Americas. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading the delegation, said on Friday (May 30) that Colombia would soon issue a statement in line with India's stand.

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What happened?

Speaking at Bogota's Tadeo Lozano University after paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Tharoor revealed, "They have withdrawn their statement that disappointed us earlier and will issue a statement of strong support for our position and understanding of our position."

Tharoor highlighted that India was dismayed by Colombia's initial response, which had expressed sympathy for Pakistan following the Indian strikes in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

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

"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 added.

What led to a change in Colombia's stance?

The Colombian government's change of stance followed a detailed engagement between the Indian delegation and Colombia's acting Foreign Minister, revealed former Indian ambassador to the US and BJP leader Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who was part of the delegation.

Talking to ANI, he said, "This morning we had a detailed interaction with the acting Foreign Minister and our leader and the entire team made specific points to them explaining to them the timeline which perhaps to an extent they might have missed out."

"The end result was that they are withdrawing one of the other statements which had come out and have promised and stated, actually quite clearly, on terrorism and the issue. The importance of Colombia, apart from other reasons, is also that it will be a member of the Security Council soon," he stated.

BJP MP Shashank Mani added that Colombia, having battled terrorism itself, understands India's position.

This development marks a diplomatic achievement for India's Operation Sindoor outreach efforts, aimed at countering Pakistan's narrative and highlighting New Delhi's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. The delegation, led by Tharoor, has already visited Panama and Guyana, will continue its journey to Brazil and the United States.