Surgical strike: Sending back Pakistani artistes was most stupid, says Shashi Tharoor

Tharoor's remarks come at a time when Congress leaders such as Digvijaya Singh and Sanjay Nirupam have questioned whether the action by the special forces ever happened. Tharoor likened the situation to spotting a burglar on a hedge outside your house, when the only option you have is to go out and capture him rather than wait for him to shatter your windows.

The former minister said the Indian security and diplomatic establishments behaved responsibly and send the right signals by clarifying that the strike was merely a preventive action against terror operatives.

Tharoor, who had earlier said that diplomatic isolation of Pakistan could not be a long-term strategy, explained that "permanent hostility is a mood" and that cannot be a policy. "My advice is to neglect the official side of things," he said, and advocated that "India should dramatically open up space for people to people contact and make unilateral concessions on visa and trade fronts."

This strategy, Tharoor argued, would help enlarge the constituency of people that has goodwill for India and shrink the space for other sections that remain hostile. "I would certainly not be sending back Pakistani singers and artists. That was one of the most stupid things this government has done," he said.