Will we get to see a Tharoor vs Bhutto? India and Pakistan delegations to be in US same day

NEW DELHI: The all-party delegation, led by Shashi Tharoor, is scheduled to be in Washington, DC, on Wednesday—coinciding, perhaps not so coincidentally, with the visit of a Pakistani delegation headed by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. While the Congress MP-led delegation is confident about getting India's message across, a Tharoor vs Bhutto might be on the cards.

Talking about this Tharoor said that the presence of both the delegations would lead to an "increase in interest" as the States, whose president has repeatedly claimed credit for India-Pakistan truce, would get to hear two diametrically opposite views on the same day.

"In Washington, we'll have the interesting phenomenon of the Pakistani delegation in America, and almost exactly the same days... Tomorrow almost they will be in Washington, while we are in Washington on the same date. So there's going to be perhaps an increase in interest because there are two duelling delegations in the same city," Tharoor told ANI on Tuesday.


He further assured that even though India's side might not be a central agenda for the American media, the delegation would get the "message across very, very easily."

"It's a challenging environment. America is a very crowded media space, the world's news generator. Therefore, our story may not be at the top of their minds. But if we can get the attention of those who care about South Asia, those who care about India, those who care about terrorism, we can get our message across very, very easily," he said.

Tharoor noted that Pakistan’s decision to send its own delegation is no coincidence, but unlike India’s broader outreach, they are focusing only on countries they consider strategically important.

"It's no accident that the Pakistanis have also sent a delegation abroad, but they're not going to as many countries as the Indian delegations are. They're focusing on what they consider a few key capitals, namely, Washington, Brussels. London. That seems to be the thrust of the Pakistani effort. We have gone to all those capitals and more," he said.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on May 17, revealed that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had entrusted him with leading a delegation to advocate the country's position amid recent escalations with India. The delegations by both the nations are meant to present their respective sides after they launched military operations against each other post Pahalgam terror attack.
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