Prolonging military conflict with Pak is not India's biggest priority today: Tharoor

New Delhi, May 11: Welcoming the understanding between India and Pakistan for cessation of hostilities, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that India's 1971 war with Pakistan that ended up in the liberation of Bangladesh and the today's situation is totally different, adding that prolonging military conflict with the neighbouring country is not India's biggest priority.

"1971 was a great achievement, Indira Gandhi rewrote the map of the subcontinent, but the circumstances were different. Bangladesh was fighting a moral cause, and liberating Bangladesh was a clear objective. Just keeping on firing shells at Pakistan is not a clear objective," Tharoor said when asked about some social media buzz comparing Indira Gandhi's action as the PM to PM Narendra Modi's stance on the latest military escalation after Operation Sindoor.

He said that the prolonging the conflict would have ended up in lot of loss of lives on both sides.

"Today's Pakistan is a different situation. Their military equipment and the damage they can do are different," he said.

"Bangladesh was fighting a moral cause to actually bring people to freedom and liberation. That was a completely different story. This is a different story. We would have ended up with much longer, protracted conflicts with a lot of loss of lives on both sides. Is this the biggest priority for India today? No, it is not," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Pawan Khera posted images of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on X and captioned it, "India misses Indira."

The 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, was a major event during Indira Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister of India. India provided crucial support to the independence movement in East Pakistan (later Bangladesh), and the war began after Pakistan launched airstrikes on Indian airbases. Indira Gandhi's leadership was instrumental in India's victory and the birth of Bangladesh.

In a crucial step toward de-escalation, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart, and the two sides agreed to halt all military actions--on land, at sea, and in the air--effective from 1700 hours IST.

However, Pakistan violated the understanding by indulging in cross-border firings, and the Indian armed forces were given instructions to deal strongly with the situation, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.