In a debate on the floor of the National Assembly, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari issued a response to some points made in a joint statement by the United States of America and India, as Indian prime minister Modi is being welcomed as a strategic ally in Washington DC.
Referring to the defence minister Khawaja Asif having brought up the US-India statement, the foreign minister informed the house that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) would issue the formal statement in reply, but he would like to make "some observatory notes" on the issue.
Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistan ought to stay away from global politics and instead focus internally: on political stability and economic stability. "We must first fix our own problems and prepare ourselves internally, only then can we achieve the international targets we set for ourselves," he said on the foot of the house.
"I don't think there is any reason for Pakistan to be insecure about its relationship with the world or with America, as a result of the increasingly close cooperation between the United States and India," the foreign minister stated.
https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/1672210061551366145
Pakistan always stood on its own feet among the comity of nations in the past, and would continue moving forward in the world as per the wishes of the Pakistani people, Bilawal said.
The Pakistani foreign minister also informed the legislature that Pakistan would be under no pressure to act because of the US-India joint statement. "Mr Speaker, Pakistan has been the biggest victim of this war against terrorism," he said as he reminded the world of thousands of Pakistani casualties incurred over the past two decades.
"We have the most casualties out of everyone, so why would we not want an end to terrorism?" Bilawal asked. He went on to state that "due to our own national security and for the future of our people, we are already fighting against terrorism and extremism". He reminded the National Assembly that in the previous PPP government (2008-2013), Pakistan had successfully fought against terrorism, but "whether we like it or not, we have to admit that Imran Khan's policies have pushed us back".
"Now this problem (of terrorism) has returned. Today it is a problem for us, God forbid tomorrow it could become a problem for some other country," Bilawal warned. "It has been my complaint since I became foreign minister 14 months ago, that the entire world has packed up and left this region and now they are singularly concerned with the Ukraine conflict, none of them are paying any attention to terrorism".
"It is very easy to write in your statement that we will work against terrorism, but especially after the Fall of Kabul, neither America nor Europe nor any other country is really concerned about terrorism," Bilawal said. "Their first priority is geopolitics, and all else comes later," the foreign minister said, adding "we believe that the issue of terrorism should not be made controversial by great powers, they should not make it a victim of geopolitics".
"If we want to fight the war on terrorism in a successful way, first we will do it ourselves in our own country, and as far as we have to fight international terrorism, we will only be able to do so when our international partners also consider terrorism an issue that cannot be subjected to geopolitical concerns".
"We can only uproot the menace of terrorism and extremism once the world comes together and agrees that nobody will play geopolitics with terror," the foreign minister concluded.
Referring to the defence minister Khawaja Asif having brought up the US-India statement, the foreign minister informed the house that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) would issue the formal statement in reply, but he would like to make "some observatory notes" on the issue.
Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistan ought to stay away from global politics and instead focus internally: on political stability and economic stability. "We must first fix our own problems and prepare ourselves internally, only then can we achieve the international targets we set for ourselves," he said on the foot of the house.
"I don't think there is any reason for Pakistan to be insecure about its relationship with the world or with America, as a result of the increasingly close cooperation between the United States and India," the foreign minister stated.
https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/1672210061551366145
Pakistan always stood on its own feet among the comity of nations in the past, and would continue moving forward in the world as per the wishes of the Pakistani people, Bilawal said.
The Pakistani foreign minister also informed the legislature that Pakistan would be under no pressure to act because of the US-India joint statement. "Mr Speaker, Pakistan has been the biggest victim of this war against terrorism," he said as he reminded the world of thousands of Pakistani casualties incurred over the past two decades.
"We have the most casualties out of everyone, so why would we not want an end to terrorism?" Bilawal asked. He went on to state that "due to our own national security and for the future of our people, we are already fighting against terrorism and extremism". He reminded the National Assembly that in the previous PPP government (2008-2013), Pakistan had successfully fought against terrorism, but "whether we like it or not, we have to admit that Imran Khan's policies have pushed us back".
"Now this problem (of terrorism) has returned. Today it is a problem for us, God forbid tomorrow it could become a problem for some other country," Bilawal warned. "It has been my complaint since I became foreign minister 14 months ago, that the entire world has packed up and left this region and now they are singularly concerned with the Ukraine conflict, none of them are paying any attention to terrorism".
"It is very easy to write in your statement that we will work against terrorism, but especially after the Fall of Kabul, neither America nor Europe nor any other country is really concerned about terrorism," Bilawal said. "Their first priority is geopolitics, and all else comes later," the foreign minister said, adding "we believe that the issue of terrorism should not be made controversial by great powers, they should not make it a victim of geopolitics".
"If we want to fight the war on terrorism in a successful way, first we will do it ourselves in our own country, and as far as we have to fight international terrorism, we will only be able to do so when our international partners also consider terrorism an issue that cannot be subjected to geopolitical concerns".
"We can only uproot the menace of terrorism and extremism once the world comes together and agrees that nobody will play geopolitics with terror," the foreign minister concluded.