QUETTA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday termed Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari a “young brother”, a day after he advised Nawaz Sharif to “focus on Lahore”.
Shehbaz Sharif said that Bilawal Bhutto is like a younger brother. We have worked together for sixteen months under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government.
Shehbaz’s comment came during a press conference in Quetta, where PML-N leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, gathered to meet with Balochistan-based political parties ahead of the polls in February 2024.
The former prime minister’s comments were made in response to his ex-foreign minister’s statement advising Nawaz Sharif to “focus on Lahore”, instead of looking towards other provinces, especially pointing at his interest in Sindh in the run-up to the elections on 8 February next year.
Addressing a presser in Mithi a day ago, Bilawal Bhutto said that Nawaz Sharif has been suggested to go to other provinces. I suggest he should stay in Lahore.
He added that the PML-N supremo should address problems that exist in Punjab instead of going towards other provinces in the country. The PPP chairman urged PML-N to do politics on its own instead of relying on others.
The party has started swift efforts towards seat adjustment in Balochistan, as it eyes to form a coalition government in Sindh if it manages to secure majority votes in the upcoming polls. A PML-N delegation comprising its leadership visited Karachi on Sunday and shared their intention regarding seat adjustment.
While responding to a question on Bilawal’s statement, Shehbaz Sharif said that we should move towards mature politics. Crying and blaming will do nothing.
Shehbaz Sharif Urges Politicians to Analyze Mistakes
He urged politicians to reflect on their own actions and analyze where mistakes were made.
He added that the nation will accept whoever the people elect as the next prime minister, as his party is rallying for Nawaz Sharif’s name for the coveted post.
Shehbaz Sharif, on his Balochistan visit after meeting leaders of provincial political parties, resolved to bring prosperity to the province, which remains deprived of better infrastructure when compared to the rest of the country.
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also 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. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that 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 and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He 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 Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “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 PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military 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”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
