Bilawal calls for Pak-India dialogue to settle Kashmir, other outstanding issues 

Brussels (Web Desk/Agencies): Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while leading a parliamentary delegation in Brussels, spoke to an international media during a press conference on Saturday and informed the global community that Pakistan desires permanent peace in the South Asian region.

He said that the country seeks resolution of the longstanding Kashmir issue, water disputes, and terrorism through a composite dialogue process, but lamented that India was not prepared to engage in this regard.

Bilawal emphasized the need for diplomatic engagement and urged the international community to intervene and facilitate dialogue between the two countries, stressing that military confrontation would not resolve the Kashmir dispute or issues related to terrorism.

 “It was a moral obligation,” he said, “that all international community should play its part to encourage both sides to engage in dialogue through diplomacy for peace in the region,” adding that “Pakistan wanted bilateral composite dialogue to tackle the issues on table.”

“Escalation is not a solution of the issues confronting between two nuclear states,” Bilawal stressed. 
He reiterated that Pakistan is committed to lasting peace in the sub-continent and is not seeking escalation or the weaponization of essential resources like water.

The former foreign minister said that while the United States (US) was open to mediating the Kashmir dispute, India has consistently maintained a non-serious attitude toward resolving its problems with Pakistan.

Bilawal highlighted that in light of recent tensions with India, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had appointed a parliamentary delegation to advocate for peace by engaging with the international community and urging it to help de-escalate the situation between the two nuclear states.

“We believe that there is no military solution of Kashmir, terrorism and water issues between India and Pakistan.

During the five days misadventures between two nuclear powers, international community had taken serious steps for finally made ceasefire between two countries,” the PPP chairman added.

He reminded the media that the Kashmir dispute has remained unresolved and on the United Nations' agenda for decades and called on the UN to prioritize its peaceful resolution.

Referring to the recent terrorist attacks in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he noted that the Pakistani Prime Minister had publicly offered an impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident, but India declined.

Bilawal strongly criticized India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling it a violation of the United Nations Charter. He said the treaty was vital for Pakistan’s agriculture and economy and deemed its suspension a serious threat to Pakistan’s survival. “Pakistan is acting on the threat, we consider it a war with no choice,” he added.

“This one, he said was first water war between two nuclear powers in this context, Pakistan seeks international community help in this regard,” the former foreign minister said.

“We are here to present Pakistan’s stance on recent tensions with India and expose New Delhi’s anti-Pakistan agenda,” he said, and emphasized the urgent need to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Dauring the presser, Bilawal Bhutto was accompanied by members of the parliamentary delegation, including Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr. Musadik Malik, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, Former Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, former Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir, and other senior leaders.