PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is addressing a press conference at the United Nations on recent regional developments.
The address comes amid the visit of a high-level team — consisting of three former foreign ministers, two former foreign secretaries, two former ambassadors to the US, and a serving federal minister — for consultations at the United Nations. The team arrived in New York on Sunday
Ex-FMs Bilawal, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari and Bushra Anjum Butt; and Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua are members of the delegation.
The Pakistani delegation is scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. The visit coincides with the arrival of an Indian delegation in Washington on June 3, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Bilawal said he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, as well as the way forward.
Reiterating the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”, Bilawal said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children.
He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam as a premise for the strikes.
“We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation.
“We did so because we were confident our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. The Indian government refused Pakistan’s offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes.
“Pakistan only ever acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said, adding that the Pakistani miliatary had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and “only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”.
Earlier, the team met officials from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) officials to brief them on Pakistan’s stance in the wake of the recent conflict with India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
Bilawal, while addressing the OIC Permanent Representatives, “categorically rejected India’s attempt to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam incident without any credible investigation or evidence”, according to a press release by Pakistan’s Mission to the UN.
He highlighted that the blame was “used as a pretext for unlawful military actions, including cross-border strikes, which targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure”.
During his meeting with the OIC envoys, PPP chairman expressed concern at India’s move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which Pakistan considered “a blatant act of weaponising water and a violation of international and treaty obligations”.
“He [Bilawal] made it plainly clear that we cannot allow this to become a new normal,” the statement read.
It continued that the PPP chairman stressed that “due to India’s belligerent aggression, the world has become a less safe place, with real and present implications for peace and security in South Asia”.
The former foreign minister went on to thank the OIC for its efforts and role aimed at mediation to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, highlighting that the “only path to peace is dialogue, engagement and diplomacy”.
“He [Bilawal] reaffirmed 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 India, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the permanent representatives of the OIC countries expressed their “appreciation for Pakistan’s transparent and timely briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
“They reiterated their concern over worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Water Treaty,” the statement added.
Separately, the delegation also held a meeting with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) president for the month of June, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who represents the Republic of Guyana.
The delegation emphasised that in the face of a growing trend of unilateralism and escalation, the UNSC must play its crucial role to ensure peace and conflict resolution.
It urged the UNSC to play a proactive role in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of the disputes, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in line with the Council’s resolutions.
Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett reaffirmed the UNSC’s commitment to upholding international peace and security in line with its mandate.
Yesterday, the nine-member Pakistani delegation held a series of meetings at the UN Headquarters.
It briefed the permanent representatives of the UNSC’s elected members besides itself — namely Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia and South Korea.
The group also engaged with envoys of the UNSC’s permanent members.
According to a statement by Bilawal after the team’s meeting with China’s Ambassador Fu Cong, the two neighbours agreed “aggressive posturing and unilateral actions threaten peace in the region and must be firmly opposed”.
In its briefing to Russia’s Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, the delegation described India’s allegation as premature and lacking any credible investigation.
During the meeting with the United States’ UN envoy, Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Bilawal urged her country to play its role in ensuring comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan to address all outstanding issues.
Separate delegation briefs Russian FM
Separately, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Syed Tariq Fatemi called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov upon the former’s arrival in Moscow this afternoon and briefed the Russian diplomat in detail about the recent developments in South Asia, according to a statement from the Embassy of Pakistan in Moscow.
Fatemi conveyed Pakistan’s perspective on the dangers of escalation as well as the dire consequences of India’s threat to reduce the flow of the Indus Waters Treaty, by holding the treaty in a so-called “abeyance”.
While discussing Pakistan-India relations, Lavrov stressed Russia’s support for the promotion of normal relations between the two countries and its positive effect in the region.
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The SAPM conveyed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s good wishes and the desire of the Pakistani leadership to expand bilateral cooperation with Russia across a wide array of subjects, including energy, connectivity, trade, among others.
Lavrov expressed satisfaction over the steadily growing bilateral cooperation with Pakistan, placing particular emphasis on important projects, such as the establishment of new steel mills as well as the connectivity projects.
He also stated that Russia looked forward to working closely with Pakistan, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, especially in the field of counter-terrorism.
SAPM Fatemi also delivered PM Shehbaz’s letter addressed to President Vladimir Putin.
