After empty rhetoric, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto seeks peace with India

ISLAMABAD: After empty rhetoric where he threatened blood if the Indus water was stopped, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has sought peace with India, saying Pakistan was committed to fighting for freedom, not conflict, Dawn reported.

During his address at Pakistan’s National Assembly on Tuesday, he claimed that Pakistan was the victim of terrorism and does not export terror.

He said, “If India wishes to walk the path of peace, let them come with open hands and not clenched fists. Let them come with facts and not fabrication. Let us sit as neighbours and speak the truth.”

“If they do not … then let them remember that the people of Pakistan are not made to kneel. The people of Pakistan have a resolve to fight, not because we love conflict, but because we love freedom,” he added, as per Dawn report.

Earlier, addressing a public gathering in Sukkur on April 25, Zardari stated that just as the PPP did not approve the canal project without consensus, Pakistanis will stand united and give a resounding response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aggression on the Indus River

His remarks to the National Assembly come as tensions between Pakistan and India have escalated following the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali national, while several others were injured.

Following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, India took a firm step by announcing the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. In response, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had resorted to empty rhetoric in a speech during a public rally.

After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides. India also halted the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960.

Meanwhile, in a setback to Pakistan, the United Nations Security Council members raised tough questions for Pakistan at its informal closed door session on Monday.

The 15-nation Security Council held deliberations on Monday afternoon amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan.There was no statement published by the UN body following the “closed consultations” that was requested by Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the Council whose presidency for the month of May is currently held by Greece.

UN Security Council members raised tough questions for Pakistan at its informal closed door session. The members refused to accept the “false flag” narrative planted by the Pakistani side and asked whether the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terror organisation with deep ties to Pakistan, was likely to be involved in the terror attack. Sources said, there was broad condemnation of the terrorist attack and recognition of the need for accountability. Some members specifically brought up targeting of tourists on the basis of their religious faith. (ANI)