Modi would become ‘butcher of Kashmir’: Bilawal

In his farewell press conference, FM lists foreign policy achievements

ISLAMABAD:

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday doubled down on his criticism against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was the “butcher of Gujarat” and would become the “butcher of Kashmir.”

In his farewell press conference as the foreign minister, Bilawal defended his foreign policy and said lack of progress to normalise ties with India had to do with the current Indian leadership.

“Narendra Modi is neither Atal Behari Vajpayee nor Manmohan Sindh. He was a butcher of Gujarat and would become butcher of Kashmir,” Bilawal remarked, something that would certainly trigger fresh controversy.

He first called Modi as butcher of Gujarat last year at the sidelines of the UN session. While some hailed his candid statement, others thought it was not advisable for the foreign minister to make such a statement against the sitting prime minister of India.

His remarks were also contradictory to his opening statement where he highlighted that his foreign policy was based on three key principles. One of those principles includes following a dispassionate policy and one that was not based on populism. However, his renewed branding of Modi would be seen as an attempt to invoke popular sentiments.

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Meanwhile, FM Bilawal listed a number of achievements on the foreign policy front during his 16-month tenure.

On the lack of progress on Afghanistan and India, Bilawal said: “What do you expect? We should bring change in 16 months that did not happen in 70 years.”

Responding to the increase in terrorism, Bilawal said that it was clear that the return of the Afghan Taliban emboldened the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “If Afghan Taliban blame Pakistan that would first hurt its own people and then Pakistan,” he cautioned.

On the issue of international recognition of the Afghan Taliban government, Bilawal said that Kabul had to address the reservations of the international community before any such move.

“When I assumed the position of the foreign minister, a bit more than a year ago, Pakistan’s foreign policy was under serious stress; compounded significantly by domestic political turmoil and a dire economic outlook,” he said.

“Our commitment to CPEC was being questioned; Our relations with the US at an all-time low; Our traditional partnerships with the Gulf countries at a sub-optimal level; Uncertainty loomed over GSP+ and future trajectory of relations with Europe; We were in the FATF grey-list; and the trust deficit with the IMF was at an all-time high.”

All this was in addition to persistent foreign policy challenges on our eastern and western borders, and a renewed threat of terrorism, he added.

He said that before they could settle, Pakistan was rocked by climate-induced catastrophic floods, requiring a robust international response to meet urgent domestic needs.

“I do not claim that we have encountered every challenge successfully. But I must share with you that today I feel we have achieved more than what I thought we would at the start of my tenure as the foreign minister,” he said.

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“We have just celebrated the 10th anniversary of the CPEC in Islamabad with Chinese vice premier in attendance. The help and assistance our government has received from China, politically and economically, gives me confidence about the health of Pakistan’s relationship with its Iron brother.”

He said that three high-level delegations from the US visited Pakistan in the second half of July 2023 – from the Treasury Department, NSC and one from the private sector.

“The last year saw consistently high level of engagement with the US government. I am glad that we now have a path with the US to rebuild and strengthen bilateral ties,” he further said.

“What gives me satisfaction, however, is that the positive trajectory in our relations with both the US and China have been pursued with clarity, underpinned by our consistent position that we do not want to be dragged into a global competition.”

He also drew particular satisfaction from how Pakistan maintained its principled position on the Ukraine conflict. Despite all the doubts and apprehensions in the media, Pakistan’s voting pattern on related resolutions in multilateral fora remained unchanged, he added.

“We invested significant effort in engaging both sides of the divide, and today, I believe there is a greater understanding of Pakistan’s position,” said Bilawal.

This, he explained, was clearly evident by the closer engagement with the US and the EU, burgeoning energy cooperation with Russia, and visits to Pakistan by the foreign ministers of Belarus and Ukraine.

“This broad, deep and meaningful engagement with all countries also helped build trust with the countries that sit on the IMF board. It’s coming to fruition last month was a gratifying moment.”

“I am happy that we were able to contribute to this national effort led by the prime minister,” he further said.

Exiting the FATF grey list was an important development for Pakistan. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar led this effort as Chairperson of the National FATF Coordination Committee, Bilawal said.

He said that in this regard, years of technical work and progress by all national stakeholders needed to be recognised internationally.

“We were able to project our progress successfully, and have it duly recognised by the FATF, thwarting diplomatically the designs of a major detractor.”

“Instead of celebrating this success, we remained focused on the job. We also led a legislative process to ensure that our gains in FATF are consolidated.”

He said that engaging Europe and UK constructively was a priority for Pakistan. “Countless meetings, in bilateral visits to and from Europe, as well as on the sidelines of multilateral meetings have reinvigorated our ties.”

“Throughout this feverish and extensive diplomatic push, we never compromised on the core tenet of our foreign policy – Kashmir; Even as I participated in the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meet in Goa this year, becoming the voice of the oppressed Kashmiris of the Indian Occupied Kashmir was my foremost priority.”