The president of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, urged the people of India on Wednesday to avoid falling prey to “misinformation and lazy”, emphasizing that it was easy for the current generation to talk about the war.
In an interview with the Indian journalist Karan Thapar, the former Pakistan Foreign Minister categorically rejected India’s statements about the country’s participation in any act of terrorism, which qualifies such accusations as a mere propaganda.
“I just want to tell the people of India that they should be, they should avoid misinformation and hate traffickers. It is easy for this generation to talk about the war and tell you that each Pakistani is a terrorist, each Pakistani is your enemy; that is not true,” he said.
“Pakistan does not allow the voluntarily groups that mentioned or any group to perform terrorist attacks outside Pakistan, but also within Pakistan. We have faced, as they know, the worst part of terrorism in recent decades. Pakistan is and has been fighting against the largest inner war against terrorism.”
While dilated on the issue of terrorism within the country, the president of the PPP recalled the immense cost that people have suffered. “We have lost 92,000 lives completely. Last year, we lost more than 1,200 civil lives in more than 200 different terrorist attacks.”
The head of PPP warned that the current rate at which terrorist attacks were occurring in different parts of the country in this year, “if they continue at this rhythm, it will be the most bloody year in the history of Pakistan.”
Bilawal recognized the emotional cost of terrorism, saying: “I am also a victim of terrorism. I feel the pain of the victims of Pahalgam’s terrorist attack. I understand the trauma that their families are experiencing more than many others can imagine.”
On Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism, he noticed military actions taken in South Wazirist and later in Waziristan from the North over the years. “More recently, we go through a rigorous Fatf process with the international community that supports Pakistan’s actions against terrorist groups,” he said. Bilawal emphasized that the financial action group was a very rigorous process that had a complete monitoring mechanism. “Therefore, it is not as if you could hide from him,” he said, adding: “We implemented a national action plan regarding our actions against concern groups for India.”
Bilawal reiterated Pakistan’s offer for international investigation into Pahalgam’s attack in the Jammu and Kashmir of the Indians, illegally occupied (Iiojk), in which 26 tourists were killed on April 22. The incident also triggered a four -day military ladder with Pakistan from May 7 to 10.
“Immediately after that accusation of the Indian government, Pakistan’s prime minister publicly declared that Pakistan is willing to be part of any impartial international investigation into the incident because our hands are clean.” However, he added, India rejected the offer.
He emphasized the need for cooperation between Pakistan and India about anti -terrorism terrorism, stating: “I would like to see the day when India and Pakistan participate in a comprehensive dialogue, which should also include the issue of terrorism, so we can collectively fight this threat.”
The president of the PPP recalled the attack by Samjhota Express 2007, where dozens of Pakistani citizens lost their lives in the Indian soil, questioning why there were no convictions. “We cannot ignore the terror of saffron on the one hand and then have another standard for which Pakistan is judged,” he said.
Highlighting the role of India in the promotion of terrorism in Pakistan, he referred to the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian spy arrested in Baluchistan. “More recently, the Jaffar Express attack can be directly linked to facilitators in their intelligence agency,” he told the interviewer.
Bilawal also raised concerns about India’s plans to cut the water supplies to Pakistan, calling Delhi’s decision to maintain Indo Water Treaty in suspense as a violation of humanitarian principles.
“The Indian prime minister and his government threaten to cut the water supply to 240 million people from Pakistan. This goes against everything that is Indian. He goes against Gandhi’s philosophy. He goes against everything they have taught us about a secular India.”
Bilawal, who last month directed a parliamentary delegation to several world capitals in a mission to discredit Indian propaganda after the recent conflict, said that Operation Bunyanum Marsoos was launched in response to Indian aggression.
Despite these challenges, he reiterated the desire of Pakistan’s peace. “We want peace. We can talk together and solve all our problems,” he concluded.
This was the first interview of a Pakistani politician by any means of Indian communication. In a tweet in X, Bilawal explained that he believed in the people of India, especially in young people and was not afraid to put “our case to the Indian public” through the Indian media.
“I chose to give an interview with the Indian media, not because I would expect a fair platform, but because I believe in the people of India, especially in young people. The case of peace in our region is not just a Pakistani cause, it is a shared mission for our two peoples. I think the new generation of Indians and Pakistani can draw a new destination,” he wrote.
“We Will Be The Generation that Breaks The Shackles of History, that defies the war-mongers, The Cynics, and the Peddolers of Hate 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-existing, cooperation and prosperity. “
