Vehemently rejecting India's allegations tying Islamabad to violence in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has asserted that Pakistan was a victim, not an exporter, of terrorism.
In a fiery speech in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Bilawal said Pakistan's founding was rooted in courage and struggle, not fear. "Let no one mistake our restraint for weakness. The Pakistan Armed Forces are vigilant, resolute and prepared," the Bhutto scion asserted.
"Our skies are guarded, our borders sealed with valour. From Karachi to Khyber and from Lahore to Larkana, our nation united. The sword we wield is drawn only when peace is threatened, but when drawn, it does not miss," he warned.
He strongly condemned India's immediate reaction to a recent deadly incident involving tourists in IIOJK.
"Tourists were killed, blood was spilt, and it was a tragedy by any measure. Yet, before the bodies had even turned cold, New Delhi shifted its wrath toward Islamabad, pointing fingers, tightening borders, and threatening consequences," he said.
Bilawal firmly denied any Pakistani involvement and declared, "Let me make this clear to the people of Pakistan and the worldPakistan had no hand in that crime. We do not export terror; we are victims of terrorism. Terrorism is not only an attack on bodies; it is an assault on truth, peace, and civilisation itself."
He used the occasion to redefine the concept of terrorism. "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 prevails, the boot on the neck of the oppressed, the bulldozer that razes a home in the dark, and the curfew that lasts not hours, but decades."
Challenging India's narrative, he questioned its moral standing in global discourse. "How can you fight terrorism while practising state terrorism in Kashmir? You cannot condemn the bullet while wielding the baton. You cannot speak of law while breaking it every day in the valley. You cannot claim moral superiority when your hands are stained with the tears of mothers, the screams of children, and the silence of dead men."
He stressed that military responses alone cannot eradicate terrorism.
"Terrorism cannot be defeated by tanks alone, but must be fought with justice. Terrorism cannot be uprooted by bullets; it must be disarmed by hope. Terrorism cannot be eliminated by demonising nations; it must be defeated by addressing the grievances that give it birth." On the broader conflict in Kashmir, Bilawal advocated for a political resolution rooted in the democratic will of the people.
"Do you wish to end the violence? 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."
Rejecting India's allegations as outdated and baseless, he said, "India's accusations are stale, rooted in fiction, not fact. India has become the boy who cries wolf in South Asia". He also reaffirmed Pakistan's record in confronting terrorism and accused India of hypocrisy.
"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."
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