Shashi Tharoor explains why ‘mediation’ with India won’t work: ‘Pakistan is a revisionist power’

By Admin

07 Jun, 2025

The geopolitical landscape of South Asia continues to be shaped by the enduring complexities of India-Pakistan relations. Amidst recent international commentary, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has firmly dismissed the notion of third-party mediation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, citing the fundamental asymmetry in their intentions and global positioning.

No Room for Mediation

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Tharoor categorically stated that “mediation is not a term that we are particularly willing to entertain.” He explained that any talk of mediation implies an equivalence between the two sides a premise he strongly rejects. “The fact is that this implies, even when you say things like broker or whatever, you're implying an equivalence which simply doesn't exist,” he said, according to PTI.

Pakistan: A Revisionist Power

Tharoor highlighted Pakistan’s status as a revisionist power, claiming it seeks to alter established geopolitical arrangements through disruptive means. "There is no equivalence between a state that is a status quo power that just wants to be left alone by its neighbours and a revisionist power that wants to upset the geopolitical arrangements that have existed for the last three-quarters of a century,” he asserted. This difference, Tharoor argued, makes any suggestion of mediation unrealistic.

He also underlined Pakistan’s support for terrorism, noting that India does not see any parity between “terrorists and their victims.” In his words, “There is no equivalence between a country that provides safe haven to terrorism, and a country that's a flourishing multi-party democracy that's trying to get on with its business."

The Trump Factor

Tharoor’s remarks came in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of having mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May. Trump has boasted that he “stopped the war,” referring to the de-escalation of tensions following India's military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. Hostilities, including four days of drone and missile exchanges, officially ended on May 10.

During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump once again claimed credit for the ceasefire: “I got that war stopped... Now, am I going to get credit? I'm not going to get credit for anything. But nobody else could have done it. I stopped it.”

India's Response and the Role of the US

Despite Trump’s assertions, India has maintained that the resolution was achieved through direct military talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations. Tharoor acknowledged US engagement during the crisis, saying, “Certainly my government received a number of calls at high levels from the US government, and we appreciated their concern and their interest.”

While Tharoor credited American diplomatic outreach for possibly helping calm the situation, he clarified that any assumption of actual mediation is speculative at best. “That may well have been where their messages really had the greatest effect. But that's guesswork on my part,” he noted.

Conclusion

Tharoor’s remarks underscore India's long-standing position that peace with Pakistan can only be pursued bilaterally and that equating a stable democracy with a state sponsoring terrorism is both dangerous and inaccurate. His strong articulation of India’s strategic posture reinforces the view that while global powers may play a supportive role, the core resolution of subcontinental tensions lies within the region itself and must be rooted in realism, not rhetoric.