Bilawal says India lost war 'miserably'

KARACHI:

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday said India had "started a war based on a lie and lost miserably," after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim declined to describe Pakistan's alleged involvement in terrorism as state-sponsored during an interview with Indian broadcaster NDTV.

"India now stands exposed internationally," Bilawal said in a post on X, responding to a clip of Anwar's interview with NDTV journalist Vishnu Som.

"The truth is India started a war based on a lie and lost miserably," the PPP chairman said, adding that India must honour its commitments made at the time of the ceasefire with Pakistan.

He urged India to discuss "all friction points with Pakistan" so the two countries could work together to bring "peace, prosperity and stability to our region."

Anwar had been in New Delhi over the past weekend to attend the BRICS summit when he gave the interview. Som asked Anwar whether he considered Israel's actions against Hamas to be terrorism. "Yes, it's state terrorism," Anwar replied, adding that it was terrorism and "state terrorism."

Som then asked whether, by the same standard, Anwar would consider what Pakistan had allegedly done in Pahalgam, Kashmir and against India to be state terrorism. "I wouldn't go to that extent," Anwar said.

He acknowledged that he was being particularly sensitive because he was speaking in India, before referring to his relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "But of course, I'm a close friend of Modi ji," the Malaysian prime minister said.

Som then pressed Anwar on why he was not more direct in condemning Pakistan over alleged terrorism. Anwar said the allegations first had to be established. "I mean, I'm not suggesting that there were no terrorist acts," he said, but added that they had to be ascertained with certainty.

The Malaysian prime minister said none of his intelligence officials involved in engagement with India had told him that there had been state-sponsored terrorism. "Therefore, I, as prime minister of Malaysia, would then refer to these facts," he said. "Do we then deny some of the information submitted to us by the Indians? No, we don't," he added.