ISLAMABAD: The head of the parliamentary delegation and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday stressed the need for comprehensive dialogue between Pakistan and India for the resolution of all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to achieve durable peace in South Asia.
Addressing a press conference in Brussels, the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) urged the global community to play a proactive role by engaging with India and emphasising that military confrontation is not a viable solution to the Kashmir dispute or terrorism. He stressed that dialogue remains the only path forward.
He said it was the moral responsibility of the international community to encourage both sides to pursue diplomatic engagement for lasting peace in the region. Pakistan, he added, is committed to a bilateral and comprehensive dialogue to address all outstanding issues.
“Escalation is not a solution to the issues between two nuclear states,” Bilawal stressed.
The former Foreign Minister said that Pakistan was desirous of durable peace in the sub-continent, but not escalation or weaponisation of water. The United States (US) was willing to mediate on the Kashmir dispute, but India had always adopted a non-serious attitude to sort out the problems with Pakistan, he highlighted.
He stated that, following the standoff with India, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed a parliamentary delegation to represent Pakistan’s call for regional peace. The delegation was tasked with engaging the international community and urging them to play an active role in helping de-escalate tensions between the two countries.
“We believe that there is no military solution of the Kashmir, terrorism, and water issues between India and Pakistan. During the five days of misadventure between two nuclear powers, the international community had taken serious steps to finally make a ceasefire between the two countries,” the PPP chairman added.
He added that the Kashmir dispute had been pending on the agenda of the UN for many decades. He urged the UN to make the Kashmir issue a topmost agenda for its peaceful settlement.
Bilawal went on to say that after the deadly attacks in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he said, the prime minister publicly offered an impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident, but India said no.
He stated that India had illegally and unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in an attempt to cut off Pakistan’s water supply, describing it as a clear violation of the United Nations Charter. He emphasised that the IWT is Pakistan’s primary source of water for agriculture and the agricultural economy, and warned that such actions pose a serious threat to the country’s survival.
“Pakistan is acting on the threat; we consider it a war with no choice,” he added.
“We are here to present Pakistan’s stance on recent tensions with India and expose New Delhi’s anti-Pakistan agenda”. He added that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute must be resolved in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
