Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is holding a press conference at the UN Headquarters, shedding light on pressing developments and security concerns in South Asia.Addressing the presser, Bilawal said on May 7th India launched illegal strikes within Pakistan in violation of the United Nations charter and international law.They targeted civilians’ infrastructure, religious worship places, dam and water and energy infrastructure, with innocent civilians, women and children losing their lives, the PPP chief added.

He said India used Pahalgam attack as a pretext to launch attack inside Pakistan.

“We express our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” said Bilawal.

Following this terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on April 22, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack.

“We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack.

“Indian government refused Pakistan offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only ever acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India.

On the first night, when their planes attacked our country, Pakistan military responded with precision.. they only targeted and downed six planes because we believe those six planes were the ones who released their load on Pakistan.”

Subsequently, Indian government launched missile strikes into Pakistani territory and Pakistan military responded in kind.

He credited international community particularly US President Donald Trump and his team led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to help the two countries in achieving a ceasefire.

“This is a welcome first step but it is only a first step. I must emphasize that the global community today is less safe post this ceasefire..its simply because the threshold for full-blown military conflict between two nuclear-armed states has come down its not gone up.”

“We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between the two countries rose and the concern is that the next time such an incident they may not be time for international community to intervene before things get a lot worse that is why this is absolutely important for Pakistan but for international community by enlarge to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy that are the only viable path to peace.”

Bilawal, who also served as foreign minister in previous PDM-led coalition government, said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue with India on outstanding issues including terrorism.

“The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place at any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists..my mother [Benazir Bhutto] who was assassinated by the terrorists.”

The political leadership of fought against these beasts these terrorists on front line..our military leadership has fought these beasts on battlefield, they have earned their honours and their titles and their promotions as a result of taking them on in South Waziristan and North Waziristan.”

Bilawal recalled that last time he visited the UN as the foreign minister of Pakistan and the country managed to go through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) process.

“We had the FATF as an organization endorse that Pakistan has taken the appropriate measures for counter-terrorism for combatting terror financing,” he said while referring to the removal of Islamabad from global terrorism financing list.

“It has become too easy internationally for hegemons wanna be hegemons to use the wolf whistle of terrorism to justify illegal actions, violent actions…”.

Bilawal said India was using terrorism as a political tool to demonise Muslims within country, in IIOJK, and in region.

“Pakistan would still like to cooperate with India to combat terrorism we can’t leave the fate of 1.5 or 1.7 billion people in the hands of non-state actors and terrorists for them to decide at a whim that two nuclear armed powers will go to war and this is the new normal o