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ISLAMABAD, May 06 (APP): Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Tuesday that the Pakistani nation was not born out of fear but out of struggle.
Speaking in the National Assembly, he said, “Let no one mistake our restraint for weakness. The Pakistan Armed Forces are vigilant, resolute, and prepared. Our skies are guarded, our borders sealed with valor. 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 condemned recent accusations by the Indian government following an incident in Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. “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.
The PPP chairman made a solemn declaration: “Let me make this clear to the people of Pakistan and the world—Pakistan 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 then raised pertinent questions about the nature 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.”
In response to India’s claims of fighting terrorism, Bilawal asked, “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 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,” he said. “Terrorism cannot be eliminated by demonizing nations; it must be defeated by addressing the grievances that give it birth.”
Addressing the situation in IIOJK , he said, “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.”
He dismissed India’s accusations of Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism as outdated, based on history rather than current realities. “India’s accusations are stale, rooted in fiction, not fact,” Bilawal said. “India has become the boy who cries wolf in South Asia.”
He also underscored Pakistan’s commitment to combating terrorism, stating that it has proven India’s involvement not only through proxies but also through its armed forces—both on Pakistani soil and beyond. “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,” he said.
On the Indus Waters Treaty, Bilawal condemned India’s suspension of the agreement. “India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is a crime against humanity.” “It is the politicization of water and the criminalization of nature. What madness is this, threatening the food and livelihood of millions for a grievance that lies within your borders?”
He reminded the world of the Indus River’s shared history as a cradle of civilization. “The Indus is not just a river; it is a cradle of our civilization,” Bilawal noted.
“Long before Delhi rose, before empires were carved and borders drawn, there stood Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. The Indus Valley Civilization, shared by both our peoples, was one of the first lights of human progress. It birthed systems of urban planning, irrigation, agriculture, trade, and communication.”
He said, “The Indus belongs to nature and peace, and it belongs to all humanity that draws life from it. Pakistan will defend that river for its own sake and the memory of a civilization that predates this bitterness. To weaponize the Indus is to betray our shared past.”
Chairman Bilawal also urged the people of Pakistan not to despair but to remain resolute. “We have faced darkness before, and we have emerged into the dawn. Our enemies hope to fracture us, but we must stand as one—civilian and soldier, worker and scholar, Muslim and non-Muslim, Sindhi, Punjabi, Baloch, Pashtun—we are Pakistan. We are a single heartbeat, a single cause.”
He called for a choice between dialogue and destruction. “It is up to both India and Pakistan to free themselves from the confines of conflict and pursue peace and prosperity. Let history show that when Pakistan stood at the crossroads of provocation and principle, we chose principle. In choosing it, we chose honor, peace, and victory.”