The latest admission by Bilawal Bhutto follows Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s acknowledgement of Pakistan’s tango with terror operatives. Earlier, Asif admitted to Islamabad’s backing and funding of terrorist groups.
In a significant development amid the escalating India-Pakistan ties following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto has acknowledged his country’s collusion with terrorists, underscoring that “Pakistan has a past”. The latest admission follows Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s acknowledgement of Pakistan’s tango with terror operatives. Earlier, in an interaction with a news channel, Asif admitted to Islamabad’s backing and funding of terrorist groups.
‘Pakistan has a past’: Bhutto
Bhutto, in a conversation with Sky News’s Yalda Hakim on Thursday, acknowledged Pakistan’s history with extremism. He claimed that Pakistan has suffered as a result and has since reformed.
“As far as what the defence minister said, I don’t think it is a secret that Pakistan has a past… As a result, we have suffered; Pakistan has suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learnt our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem,” Bilawal Bhutto said.
HERE’S WHAT BHUTTO SAID
“As far as Pakistan’s history is concerned, it is history, and it is not something that we are partaking in today. It is true that it is an unfortunate part of our history,” Bhutto further said.
‘Been doing this dirty work’: Khawaja Asif
Earlier, Khwaja Asif, in his admission, said, “We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about 3 decades and the West, including Britain.”
“That was a mistake, and we suffered for that, and that is why you are saying this to me. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and, later on, the war after 9/11, Pakistan’s track record would have been unimpeachable,” Khwaja Asif added.
Bhutto threatens India
As tensions continue to rise between India and Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto took an aggressive stance in his response to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack.
“The Indus is ours and will remain ours – either our water will flow through it, or their blood,” the former foreign minister was quoted as saying by The News on Friday while addressing a public rally in the Sukkur area of his Sindh province.