The president of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, urged the inhabitants of India on Wednesday to avoid prey “disinformation and challenge of hatred”, stressing that it was easy for the current generation to speak of war.
In an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, the former Pakistani Minister for Foreign Affairs categorically rejected India’s statements on the country’s participation in any act of terrorism, calling a simple propaganda allegations.
“I just want to tell the inhabitants of India that they must be, they must avoid disinformation and hate merchants. It is easy for this generation to talk about war and tell you that each Pakistanis is a terrorist, each Pakistanis is your enemy; it is not true,” he said.
“Pakistan does not gladly allow the groups you have mentioned or no group to carry out terrorist attacks outside Pakistan but also in Pakistan. We have, as you know, face the biggest terrorism in recent decades. Pakistan is and has fought the greatest internal war against terrorism.”
While expanding on the issue of terrorism in the country, the president of the PPP recalled the immense toll that the people suffered. “We have lost 92,000 lives.
The PPP chief warned that the current rate to which terrorist attacks took place in different parts of the country this year, “if they continue at this rate, it will be the bloodiest year in the history of Pakistan”.
Bilawal has recognized the emotional cost of terrorism, saying: “I too am the victim of terrorism. I feel the pain of the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. I understand the trauma that their families experiences in a way more than many others cannot imagine.”
Regarding Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism, he noted the military measures taken in southern Waziristan and later in northern Waziristan over the years. “More recently, we have gone through a rigorous scrutiny process with the international community approving Pakistan’s actions against said terrorist groups,” he said. Bilawal stressed that the financial action working group was a very rigorous process that had a complete monitoring mechanism. “It is therefore not as if you could hide it,” he said, adding: “We have implemented a national action plan with regard to our actions against concern in India.”
Bilawal reiterated Pakistan’s offer for an international pahalgam attack in Jammu-et-Cachemire illegally occupied, in which 26 tourists were killed on April 22. The incident also sparked a four -day military escalation with Pakistan from May 7 to 10.
“Immediately after this accusation of the Indian government, the Prime Minister of Pakistan publicly said that Pakistan was willing to be part of any international impartial investigation on the incident because our hands are clean.” However, he added, India has rejected the offer.
He underlined the need for cooperation between Pakistan and India on counter-terrorism, declaring: “I would like to see the day when India and Pakistan engage in a complete dialogue, which should also include the question of terrorism, so that we can collectively collect this threat.”
The president of the PPP recalled the attack of Samjhota Express 2007, where dozens of Pakistani citizens lost their lives on Indian soil, wondering why there had been no convictions. “We cannot ignore the terror of the saffron on one side, then hold another standard by which Pakistan is judged,” he said.
Stressing the role of India in the promotion of terrorism in Pakistan, he referred to the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian spy arrested in Balutchistan. “More recently, Jaffar Express’s attack can be directly linked to the facilitators of your intelligence agency,” he told the interviewer.
Bilawal has also raised concerns concerning India’s plans to reduce water supplies to Pakistan, qualifying Delhi’s decision to maintain the Suspensive Indus Water Treaty as a violation of humanitarian principles.
“The Indian Prime Minister and your government threaten to cut water supply to 240 million people from Pakistan.
Bilawal, who led a parliamentary delegation last month to several world capitals on mission to demystify Indian propaganda following the recent conflict, said Bunyanum Marsoos operation had been launched in response to the Indian assault.
Despite these challenges, he reiterated Pakistan’s desire. “We want peace. We can speak together and solve all our problems,” he concluded.
It was the first interview of a Pakistani politician by any Indian media. In a tweet on X, Bilawal explained that he believed in the inhabitants of India, in particular young people and that he was not afraid of “our case to the Indian public” via the Indian media.
“I chose to give an interview to the Indian media, not because I expected a fair platform, but because I believe in the inhabitants of India, in particular young people. The case for peace in our region is not only a Pakistani cause, it is a shared mission for our two peoples.
“We will be the Generation that Breaks the Shackles of History, that defies the War-Mongers, the Cynics, and the Peddlers of Hate. Together, we will face the real challenges of Our Time Together, from Terrorism to Climate Change to inequality. This is my promise to the young People of Both India and Pakistan: Our Future Will Be Defined Not by the Conflicts of the Past, But by a New Destiny Defined by Peaceful Co-Existence, Cooperation and Prosperity.
