Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said India’s aggression against his country made the world less safe that there was no military solution to the issues between the two nuclear-armed South Asian countries including Kashmir, water and terrorism.
Bilawal Bhutto spoke as we wrapped up a two-day visit to New York, where he led a Pakistani delegation at meetings with world diplomats at the United Nations to apprise them of Pakistan’s perspective on May 7-10 conflict between the two rival neighbors.
Besides, Bilawal Bhutto also addressed a gathering of Pakistani Americans at an event hosted by the organization Overseas Pakistanis Society.
He voiced grave concern at New Delhi’s unilateral suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a “blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations.”
“For Pakistan, that is a redline,” declared Bilawal Bhutto, who is leading a parliamentary delegation on a visit to the United States and has now arrived in Washington D.C. for talks with top American diplomats.
An Indian delegation is also visiting Washington D.C. as New Delhi and Islamabad take their narratives to world capitals to present their case on the 87-hour conflict in May that took place in the backdrop of April 22 terrorist attack when gunmen killed 26 tourists in Indian-controlled part of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.
New Delhi quickly pointed finger at Pakistan saying terrorists were linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba militant organization. Islamabad demanded evidence and offered to be part of a neutral and transparent investigation into the incident.
India launched a series of aerial strikes on May 7 into Pakistani cities. Pakistan retaliated by downing five Indian fighter jets including French Rafale warplanes, a loss which Indian military admitted three weeks after what has been described as one of the largest dogfights in modern history. Pakistan used Chinese high-tech warplanes to combat the attacking Indian fighter jets.
Shashi Tharoor, an Indian Congress MP, who is heading his country’s delegation, accused Pakistan of not doing anything to stop terrorism. He said Indian strikes were not meant to start a war but target the perpetrators of terror.
However, Bilawal Bhutto told world diplomats that New Delhi has not shared any evidence whatsoever with any member of the international community or even with the Indian nation that links his country to April 22 incident in Pahalgam area of Himalayan Kashmir region.
The chairman of Pakistan People’s Party informed the world diplomats including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that “due to India’s belligerent aggression, the world had become a less safe place, with real and present implications for peace and security in South Asia.”
Bilawal Bhutto expressed “Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy” and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core.”
He credited international mediation — particularly by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — with helping the two countries secure a ceasefire.
However, he warned that while welcomed, the ceasefire was only a temporary measure.
“The threshold for full-blown conflict between two nuclear-armed nations has been dangerously lowered,” he cautioned while stressing the need for continued dialogue and diplomatic engagement.
Highlighting the danger of rapid escalation, Bilawal Bhutto warned, “Next time, the international community might not have enough time to intervene.”
He emphasized that Pakistan’s civil and military leadership had made great sacrifices in fighting terrorism and deserved international recognition, not vilification. He said his mother, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed by terrorists.
In a series of engagements, Bilawal Bhutto also criticized India’s use of terrorism as a political tool to marginalize Muslims and justify aggressive actions in Kashmir and against Pakistan.
He expressed Pakistan’s willingness to cooperate with India in combatting terrorism, stressing that regional peace could not be held hostage by non-state actors.
On India’s attempt to set a precedent of war in response to every terror incident, he called it “untenable” for two nuclear-armed countries.
The head of the Pakistani delegation proposed the “establishment of a dispute resolution mechanism between the two nations to investigate and address terrorism-related concerns jointly.”
He reiterated that the root cause of the conflict remained the unresolved issue of Jammu and Kashmir — an agenda item at the UN Security Council — and stressed the importance of fulfilling international commitments made to the Kashmiri people.
Bilawal Bhutto sharply criticized Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and his rightwing government for pushing the region into a dangerous situation.
Raising concerns over India’s “weaponization of water,” he cited its threats to abrogate the Indus Waters Treaty as a violation of international law and a potential act of war.
“India claims to be a net security provider, but its actions have made it a source of insecurity in the region,” he said. “True security can only come through peace between India and Pakistan.”
The head of Overseas Pakistanis Society Imran Igra welcomed the delegation to his organization’s event.
The Pakistani delegation includes former minister for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Member Parliament Khurram Dastgir Khan, Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari, Bushra Anjum Butt, and former foreign secretaries Jalil Abbas Jilni and Tehmina Janjua.
At the events, Bilawal Bhutto asked the international community to push India to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan to resolve disputes and maintain peace in the region.
Views News Now Correspondent in Lahore Muhammad Luqman contributed to this report.
