Bilawal calls for talks between Islamabad, New Delhi amid escalating tensions

• Fully support govt's decisions in response to India's actions: Bilawal.
• PPP chief says India's case was weak on Indus Waters Treaty issue.
• India exposed itself by taking such aggressive step, remarks ex-FM.

ISLAMABAD/SUKKUR: Amid prevailing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, former foreign minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged both countries to resort to talks for the resolution of disputes, The News reported on Sunday.

Speaking during an interview with a private TV channel, Bilawal lamented New Delhi's approach towards talks and said: "The [Pakistani] government also offered talks, but India rejected it".

The PPP chief's remarks come against the backdrop of the diplomatic escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries following an attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir' (IOJK) Pahalgam area, resulting in 26 fatalities.

New Delhi has accused Islamabad of supporting "cross-border terrorism" — an allegation vehemently denied by Islamabad.

Since then, India has downgraded its diplomatic relations with Islamabad while also suspending the Indus Waters Treaty between the two countries. In response, Pakistan too has taken similar diplomatic measures while also closing its airspace for Indian airlines.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while condemning the unfortunate attack, has offered to participate in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation into the incident.

With Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warning that the escalation could escalate into an "all-out war", the United Nations has urged Pakistan and India to show "maximum restraint" to ensure that the situation and the developments do not deteriorate any further.

Echoing PM Shehbaz's remarks, Bilawal, during the interview, said that the whole world raised its voice on terrorist incidents, and all the leaders of Pakistan, including the president and prime minister, have condemned terrorism.

The politician also expanded on India's measures of blocking Pakistan's water and said: "No country has taken such aggressive decisions on blocking water in the past. When I was the foreign minister, India had also tried to challenge the Indus Waters Treaty, but it failed in its goal because its case on the Indus Waters Treaty is very weak".

Noting that there have been wars all over the world, Bilawal said that there were international laws, and according to them, water cannot be stopped even in the event of a war between two countries.

India has exposed itself by taking such an aggressive step, as their target is innocent Pakistanis, he remarked.

"Pakistan has responded to Indian actions, and we fully support the decisions taken by the government," he said, adding that if India decides to terminate the Indus Waters Treaty, then Pakistan will also respond fully.

"Whether the Shimla Agreement or the Indus Waters Treaty, these should remain. Whether it is occupied Kashmir or terrorism in Pakistan, India's case is weak," the ex-FM said.

Underscoring that Pakistan and India were nuclear powers, and so there will be efforts at the global level to prevent the matter from moving ahead, the PPP chairman pointed out that India held an All Parties Conference, in which they admitted security failures.