ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Former foreign minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that India’s use of a supersonic missile with nuclear capability during a recent confrontation with Pakistan has made the situation even more dangerous.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Bilawal warned that such a move by New Delhi poses a serious risk in any future conflict. “Now we then have about 30 seconds time to decide, off a grainy little image, this nuclear-capable missile, is it armed with a nuclear weapon? And how do we respond?” he said.
He noted that India’s actions have brought down the threshold for military engagement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, making future clashes more unpredictable.
Currently, in New York leading a nine-member high-level parliamentary delegation, Bilawal has been strongly voicing Pakistan’s message of “peace with dignity and equality” at the United Nations.
He stressed that holding a broad-based dialogue between the two countries could help prevent potential conflicts, which may escalate so quickly that there would be little time for leaders to step in and calm tensions.
“Our concern for next time, heaven forbid, for next time round is that the threshold is low for a military conflict,” he said, adding that in any future crisis, both countries might move up the “escalation ladder” too rapidly for even world leaders like President Donald Trump to intervene.
Bilawal also firmly rejected Indian accusations regarding the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, saying that India had not provided any credible evidence.
“You just need an accusation, and you launch into a full-blown war with Pakistan,” he remarked.
He criticised what he described as a dangerous shift in regional policy by the Indian government.
“The new sort of normal, or we call it an abnormal, that the Modi government is trying to impose on the region is that if there’s a terrorist attack anywhere in India, mainland India and Indian-occupied Kashmir, you don’t have to provide a shred of evidence.”
It is worth noting that after a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India would not hesitate to strike “terrorist camps” in Pakistan again, calling such action the “new normal” in ties with Islamabad.
Calling for de-escalation, Bilawal stressed the need for open and meaningful talks. “Therefore, from our perspective, it’s of the utmost importance that Pakistan and India engage in a comprehensive dialogue.”
