Shashi Tharoor to Lead Cross-Party Delegation to US on Pahalgam Terror Briefing Mission
New Delhi, 17th May 2025: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is set to head a cross-party delegation of 10 members to the United States to brief stakeholders on the recent Pahalgam terror incident and Operation Sindoor, according to sources.
The delegation features lawmakers from various political backgrounds, including Shambhavi Choudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Trinamool Congress), Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shri Shashank Mani Tripathi and Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), as well as two non-political members: former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Dr. Varun Jeph, Director (IOR) and liaison officer for the team.
However, Bandyopadhyay has opted out of the visit due to health-related reasons, sources noted.
The Indian government had earlier announced the formation of seven multi-party MP delegations, each consisting of at least five parliamentarians and one senior diplomat. These groups have been tasked with informing key nations about the developments surrounding the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
The delegations are scheduled to travel between May 21 and 22 to destinations including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, Japan, South Africa, and countries in West Asia.
Senior diplomats will accompany and support MPs during their engagements abroad. These include former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and ex-ambassadors Jawed Ashraf (France), Mohan Kumar (France), and Sujan Chinoy (Japan).
Former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will lead the delegation to East and Southeast Asian nations such as South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. He will be joined by JDU MP Sanjay Jha and Shringla.
Delegations will also be led by Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Pawar faction) and Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena). Sule’s team includes BJP members Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Thakur, Brij Lal, and Tejaswi Surya, along with Congress MP Manish Tewari.
AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi is also slated to be part of a separate delegation. DMK MP Kanimozhi will head the Russia-bound group, which also features RJD’s Prem Chand Gupta.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, is expected to lead the group traveling to the UK, France, Germany, and the EU headquarters in Brussels.
Another team will travel to West Asia, potentially led by BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad. Samajwadi Party’s Rajeev Kumar Rai is also part of a delegation.
Trinamool’s Bandyopadhyay was extended an invitation, but has informed authorities of his inability to undertake long-distance travel due to health concerns.
