April 29, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, and former Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari clarified in a recent statement that he ‘personally opposes Pakistan violating the Shimla Agreement and other bilateral or international agreements with India’.
However, he warned that if India continued its violations in this regard, Pakistan may also need to reconsider its position on maintaining these bilateral agreements.
Conversing with Munizae Jahangir on her news show ‘Spotlight‘, Bilawal said that India holds a legally weak position on the Kashmir issue and the Indus Water Treaty. He emphasized that peace in the world could only be possible through diplomacy, and diplomacy is founded on bilateral agreements.
‘By cutting off water, India has revealed its true intentions’
India unilaterally announced the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam attack. The IWT deals with an agreed distribution of water and was signed in 1960. After the suspension of the IWT by India, Pakistan too stated that it reserved the right to suspend the Shimla Agreement and other bilateral treaties with India.
Bilawal reiterated that suspending the IWT violated international law.
“When you announce cutting off water for 200 million people, it becomes clear that your real issue is not terrorism,” he said, adding that India was collectively punishing the Muslims of Kashmir by destroying their homes.
‘Modi govt using Muslims, Pakistan to hide its weaknesses’
Bilawal analyzed that India uses Muslims and Pakistan as scapegoats to divert attention from its internal and external weaknesses. Whenever the Modi government faced an internal problem, it blamed Muslims, and when confronted with external issues, it blamed Pakistan to mislead its public, he said.
“Whenever a terrorist incident occurs anywhere in India, it immediately begins accusing Pakistan and conducts some operation or the other to show its public,” he said. He particularly emphasized that by suspending the IWT, India had taken an extremely irresponsible step, as water had no connection with terrorism, and even during past Indo-Pakistan wars, such an extreme measure was never taken.
‘India would stand exposed if does not agree to an impartial probe’
“Modi’s India has already been exposed and adopts an extremist stance on internal and external issues,” Bilawal said. “If India truly wants to end terrorism, this is only possible through dialogue.”
Supporting the Pakistani government’s offer for an impartial investigation into the Pahalgam attack, he said that if India did not agree to this, then its true face would be revealed to the world.
Commenting on the role of the United States in the Pakistan-India tension, the former Foreign Minister said that President Trump wants the two neighbours to resolve their issues through negotiations. He clarified that Pakistan desires dialogue, but India is avoiding it. He mentioned that in 2019, the US played an important role in reducing tensions between Pakistan and India, but no such activity is visible in the current situation.
‘Global mechanasim needed to deal with non-state actors’
Expressing his thoughts on non-state actors, Bilawal said that these organizations are creating serious problems for all countries. He specifically mentioned that after the fall of Kabul, there has been an increase in attacks by separatist and religious extremist groups in Pakistan.
“We need to adopt a joint strategy at the international level to deal with non-state actors in order to effectively eliminate terrorist incidents,” he suggested.
In his response to Khawaja Asif’s statement regarding the training of terrorists in the past, the former Foreign Minister acknowledged that it is true that various countries around the world have used non-state actors against each other in the past, but Pakistan is the only country that has clearly changed its policy and declared these organizations as its enemies. He pointed out that this is why Pakistan succeeded in getting removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘gray-list’.
He reminded that in 2009 in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Indian Prime Minister had admitted that India supports terrorist organizations in Balochistan, and India’s hand is visible in numerous terrorist incidents in Pakistan.
In response to the question of whether Pakistan can engage in talks with India without the restoration of Kashmir’s special status, Bilawal clarified that peace between Pakistan and India is only possible when both countries resolve the Kashmir issue according to the wishes of Kashmiris.
“It is absolutely impossible for India to not talk to Pakistan for five or 10 years after every terrorist incident,” he said adding that finding solutions to issues through diplomacy was in Pakistan’s national interest.
‘Allegations against Farhatullah Babar are ridiculous’
Meanwhile, commenting on Pakistan’s internal politics, Bilawal said that the Prime Minister had assured that the construction of new canals would not proceed without consensus from all provinces and that the controversial decisions of the caretaker government would be reversed. He emphasized that the Pakistan People’s Party would not settle for anything less.
He strongly condemned the FIA case against Farhatullah Babar.
“The allegations against Farhatullah Babar are ridiculous, and has ended up in mocking the agency which is making these allegations,” he said. “If this is your attitude towards a government-supporting party like the Pakistan People’s Party, what would your treatment be towards the opposition?”
Discussing the Balochistan issue and the arrest of female political workers, Bilawal Bhutto said that his party does not favor detaining civil society and political workers, but sometimes political workers make decisions that force governments to take strict measures. Clarifying his position, he said, “We want to find a political solution to Balochistan’s problems and completely eliminate terrorism—whether by separatists or religious organizations.”