A high-powered team led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday met the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) officials to brief them on Pakistan’s stance in the wake of the recent conflict with India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
The high-level team — consisting of three former foreign ministers, two former foreign secretaries, two former ambassadors to the US, and a serving federal minister — arrived in New York on Sunday for consultations at the United Nations.
Ex-FMs PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari and Bushra Anjum Butt; and Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua are members of the delegation.
Bilawal, while addressing the OIC Permanent Representatives, “categorically rejected India’s attempt to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam incident without any credible investigation or evidence”, according to a press release by Pakistan’s Mission to the UN.
He highlighted that the blame was “used as a pretext for unlawful military actions, including cross-border strikes, which targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure”.
The Pakistani delegation is scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels.
The visit coincides with the arrival of an Indian delegation in Washington on June 3, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
During his meeting with the OIC envoys, PPP chairman expressed concern at India’s move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which Pakistan considered “a blatant act of weaponising water and a violation of international and treaty obligations”.
“He [Bilawal] made it plainly clear that we cannot allow this to become a new normal,” the statement read.
It continued that the PPP chairman stressed that “due to India’s belligerent aggression, the world has become a less safe place, with real and present implications for peace and security in South Asia”.
The former foreign minister went on to thank the OIC for its efforts and role aimed at mediation to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, highlighting that the “only path to peace is dialogue, engagement and diplomacy”.
“He [Bilawal] reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue with India, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,” the statement read.
