Bilawal Bhutto's ISI-RAW collaboration call as Shashi Tharoor-led delegation set for face-off in US
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman and former foreign minister, has said cooperation between his country and India's intelligence agencies could significantly reduce terrorism in South Asia.
The PPP chairman, who is currently leading a high-powered delegation to the United States, as part of a global diplomatic push to seek support following its recent conflict with India, was speaking at a press conference at UN headquarters on Tuesday, the Dawn newspaper reported.
'I am completely confident that if ISI and RAW were ready to sit down and work together to fight these forces, we would see a significant decrease in terrorism in both India and Pakistan,' Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was quoted as saying by the newspaper on Wednesday.
Bilawal Bhutto's statement comes even as an all-party delegation led by Shashi Tharoor has arrived in Washington DC to engage with members of the US Congress, administration, think tanks, media, and policymakers over the next two days.
The Indian delegation aims to brief key stakeholders in the US on Operation Sindoor, a diplomatic initiative launched to counter terrorism and disinformation following recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
At the press conference, Bilawal Bhutto also urged the global community to remain engaged in South Asia, warning that the risk of conflict between nuclear-armed neighbours had grown, not diminished, after the recent ceasefire.
'With the intervention of the international community — and I would like to mention particularly the role played by the US President Donald Trump and his team led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio — we did manage to achieve a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. This is a welcome first step, but it's only a first step,' Bhutto-Zardari said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, prompting India to launch precision strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.
In retaliation, Pakistan attempted strikes on Indian military bases over the next three days — May 8, 9, and 10 — to which India responded firmly.
The hostilities eventually subsided after military-level talks on May 10, where the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGsMO) of both nations agreed to halt further actions.
Despite former US President Donald Trump's claim that the United States intervened to stop the conflict, India has repeatedly said the de-escalation was the result of direct communication and agreement between the DGsMO of the two countries.
Bhutto-Zardari emphasised that diplomacy and dialogue were the only 'viable path to peace,' and reiterated Pakistan's willingness to engage in a broad dialogue with India — including cooperation on counterterrorism.
'Pakistan would still like to cooperate with India to combat terrorism. We can't leave the fate of 1.5 billion, 1.7 billion people in the hands of non-state actors and terrorists... For them to decide, at a whim, that (when these) two nuclear-armed powers will go to war,' he said.
Chairperson of the standing committee on external affairs Tharoor is leading the delegation, which comprises Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and India's former Ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu.
The delegation, which had reached New York from India on May 24, travelled to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and Brazil before arriving in Washington for the last leg of its tour.
In its interactions in the US, the delegation will convey India's resolve against terrorism and emphasise Pakistan's links to terrorism.
On Wednesday, when the Indian delegation begins its meetings in Washington, the parliamentary delegation from Pakistan led by Bilawal Bhutto is also set to arrive in Washington, DC.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Bhutto — who met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres along with his delegation— said they would meet US government representatives and lawmakers in the American capital.
(With inputs from PTI)
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