Indian diplomat attends Bilawal-hosted Iftar dinner

Foreign minister says a lot of difficulties is of ‘our’ own making

ISLAMABAD:

A senior Indian diplomat on Thursday attended an Iftar Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hosted for the Islamabad-based diplomatic corps.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Foreign Minister Bilawal extended the invitation to the Indian chargé d’affaires along with the diplomats based in the capital.

India accepted the invitation and its senior diplomat attended the dinner at the Foreign Office since the chargé d’affaires was not in Pakistan.

It has been seen that Pakistan and India usually avoid inviting each other to such functions because of the tense state of their relationship. But the presence of an Indian diplomat at the dinner suggested a departure from that policy.

Read more: Pakistan deliberates on SCO participation in India

There is a possibility of engagements at the higher level between the two countries if Pakistan attends the upcoming meetings of defence and foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in India.

The foreign minister, while addressing the diplomat corps, said that there were people in all our societies, not particularly in Pakistan, who were facing incredibly difficult times.

He said that he was ready to accept that a lot of the difficulties were of ‘our’ own making, referring collectively to the economic policies adopted by the previous government.

"We are facing economic consequences of certain decisions that are not in our control. The people are facing the devastating impact of a climate catastrophe in the face of floods, in the occurrence of which they played little to no role at all. The younger generation especially, is facing the consequences of decisions that they did not make," he said.

"The economic quagmire that has been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is not only faced by Pakistan, but the entire world. The geopolitical situation in the world as well has added to the growing list of consequences faced by the globe," Bilawal maintained.

"In this particular month, we are reminded that it is probable that the consequences of our actions are faced by those who are perhaps not as empowered as we are. Therefore, we have the opportunity through which we can positively affect the lives of those who are less fortunate. It should be our collective effort that we make it a point to minimize to the utmost extent, the burden that is on the shoulders of the underprivileged."

Chairman Bilawal commended the efforts of the federal minister for the Benazir Income Support Programme, Shazia Marri towards eradicating poverty as the head of the first and only safety net for the poorest of the poor, especially women in particular.

"We have witnessed the incredible services rendered as a result of the BISP’s existence during the Covid-19 pandemic to bolster the dwindling hopes of the people. When the floods came, the most effective means of getting support to the vulnerable was through the BISP."

He said “as we are persevering through the economic turmoil while the finance ministry is still in talks with the IMF as well as having the monumental task of rehabilitating flood victims ahead of us, this government is consistently trying within the space that it has, to provide the most benefits to those at the bottom of the pyramid”.