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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had no hand in the Pahalgam incident, adding “but still, if India is determined to demonstrate its madness, then know that we are not going to bow down.”
The PPP chairman expressed these views while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday.
He said “in recent days, the government of India has unleashed a torrent of accusations following a heinous act in Occupied Kashmir. Tourists were killed, blood was spilled; it was a tragedy by any measure. Yet, before the bodies had turned cold, New Delhi turned its wrath towards Islamabad, pointing fingers, tightening borders and threatening consequences. Let me make this solemn declaration before the people of Pakistan and the world, Pakistan had no hand in that crime. We do not export terror; we are the victims of terrorism. Terrorism is just not an act on bodies, it is an attack on truth, peace and civilisation itself. What is terrorism? Is it merely the act of a deranged gunman or a bomb in a marketplace? It is the silence of the world when injustice reigns, it is the boot on the neck of the oppressed, and it is the bulldozer that razes a home in the dark and it is the curfew that lasts not hours but decades.”
The PPP chairman said that India claims to fight terrorism. “Let us ask, how can you fight terrorism while practicing state terrorism in Kashmir? You cannot condemn the bullet while you wield the baton. You cannot speak of law when you break it every day in the valley. You cannot claim moral superiority when your hands are soiled with the tears of mothers, screams of children and the silence of dead men.”
He said Pakistan has suffered from terrorism, foreign-sponsored, ideologically-driven and brutally indiscriminate. He said “we have buried our soldiers and our schoolchildren. We have stood alone while the world averted its gaze. We have fought a menace not only with arms but with ideas, education, economic reforms and unity. I say this to India and the world, terrorism cannot be defeated by tanks alone, it must be defeated by justice. Terrorism cannot just be uprooted by bullets; it must be disarmed by hope.”
Bilawal said, “Terrorism cannot be eliminated by demonising nations, it must be defeated by addressing the grievances that give its birth. Do you wish to end the violence in Kashmir? Then let the people speak. Let there be a plebiscite, not persecution. Let there be ballots, not bulldozers. Let there be autonomy, not annexation. That is the only path to peace. No lie, no bullet, no bang will bury the truth. Kashmir is not India’s territory. It is a promise broken, a wound festering and a people waiting.”
He said “let no one mistake our restraint for weakness. The Pakistan Armed Forces are vigilant, resolute and prepared. Our skies are guarded; our borders are sealed by valour. Our nation stands united from Karachi to Khyber and from Lahore to Larkana. The sword we wield is only drawn when peace is threatened, but when drawn, it does not miss.”
The PPP chairman said “India expects the 200 million people of Pakistan to account for the actions of terrorists they are still unable to name, while India has yet to account for Kulbhushan Jadhav, whose name and rank within India’s armed forces is on the record. India’s accusation that Pakistan is involved in terrorism is stale, based on history and not ground realities, based on fiction, not on fact. India has become the boy that cries wolf in South Asia,” Bilawal said.
He said Pakistan has proven India’s involvement in terror, not only through proxies but through their armed forces, not just on our soil. “India’s hands are stained with blood from Sri Lanka to Canada and beyond. India must abandon terrorism as a tool of its foreign policy. In order to free this region from terror, India and Pakistan must work together, or else we are dooming future generations to suffer this menace. The prime minister’s challenge to India for an impartial investigation is a start. Why would a true victim of terrorism shy away from accountability? Unless, they are worried that the world will see that the real blame for the bloodshed in Kashmir lies in Delhi and not in Islamabad,” Bilawal said.
About the water treaty, the PPP chairman said that India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is not a punishment for Pakistan, but a crime against humanity. He said it is the politicisation of water and criminalisation of nature. “What madness is this, that you would threaten the food and livelihood of millions for a grievance that lies within your own borders. Let us not forget what flows through these waters. The Indus is not just a river; it is a cradle of our civilisation. Long before Delhi rose, before empires were carved and borders drawn, there stood Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. The Indus Valley Civilisation, shared by both our people, was one of the first lights of human progress. It birthed systems of urban planning, irrigation, agriculture, trade and communication. It did not divide, it connected and it did not conquer, it cultivated. That river watered both our ancestors. Its flow runs not only through our lands but through our blood. Now, India threatens to damn it with anger and a thirst for vengeance. However, the Indus is not theirs to command, it belongs to nature and peace. It belongs to all of humanity that draws life from it. Pakistan will defend that river, not only for its own sake but for the memory of a civilisation that predates this bitterness. To weaponise the Indus is to betray our shared past. To uphold the Treaty is to honour that ancient wisdom, which taught us to share what sustains us. Let it be known, you can divert rivers but you cannot drown our will. Every drop that flows from the Indus has written in it the courage of Pakistani farmers, the sweat of our workers and the blessing of Allah Almighty.”
