This is a factual summary of a news report. It accurately reflects the key points of the Sky News interview with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari regarding the Indian strikes.
Here are some additional points that could be made about this statement:
* **Context:** It's important to remember the context of the situation. Tensions between India and Pakistan were high following a suicide attack in Pulwama, Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
* **Perspective:** Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's statement reflects the Pakistani perspective on the strikes. It's a strong condemnation and framing of the action as an act of aggression.
* **Political Figure:** Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is a prominent political figure in Pakistan, and his views carry weight within the country.
* **International Reaction:** The situation garnered significant international attention, with many countries calling for de-escalation and dialogue.
This statement serves as a starting point for understanding the Pakistani reaction to the Indian strikes at that time. To get a complete picture, it would be necessary to consider the Indian perspective and the wider international response.
Here are some additional points that could be made about this statement:
* **Context:** It's important to remember the context of the situation. Tensions between India and Pakistan were high following a suicide attack in Pulwama, Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
* **Perspective:** Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's statement reflects the Pakistani perspective on the strikes. It's a strong condemnation and framing of the action as an act of aggression.
* **Political Figure:** Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is a prominent political figure in Pakistan, and his views carry weight within the country.
* **International Reaction:** The situation garnered significant international attention, with many countries calling for de-escalation and dialogue.
This statement serves as a starting point for understanding the Pakistani reaction to the Indian strikes at that time. To get a complete picture, it would be necessary to consider the Indian perspective and the wider international response.
Category
đ
LearningTranscript
00:00Eman of the Pakistan People's Party, former foreign minister,
00:03son, of course, of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as well.
00:06Good to have you with us.
00:06Your reaction to the developments of the last few hours, please.
00:10Thank you. Thank you for having me.
00:12First, I offer my condolences to the victims, to the families of those martyred
00:18in this late night cowardly attack by Indian forces,
00:23to the men, women and children who have died.
00:27Let us be absolutely clear.
00:31This was an unprovoked, deliberate act of war by India,
00:35who launched missile, drone and airstrikes into Pakistani territory.
00:41Over the past two weeks, Pakistan has been on the receiving end
00:46of belligerent threats by the Indian government.
00:49We have time and time again insisted that our hands are clean
00:55and offered an impartial inquiry to any and all accusations.
01:01Unfortunately, India rebuffed those offers by Pakistan
01:05and have chosen instead to target innocent civilians.
01:11Pakistan reserves the right under the UN Charter to respond.
01:15The Prime Minister of your country and the armed forces have been authorised
01:21to undertake corresponding actions.
01:23What should we expect?
01:25What do you expect your country, your military, to do in response?
01:29So far, the Pakistan armed forces have acted bravely and with precision.
01:35In self-defence during these attacks, we downed five Indian aircraft.
01:40India's attacks took place in Pakistani territory,
01:46targeting cities where innocent civilians live,
01:50civilian infrastructure, including a dam.
01:54Pakistan does reserve the right to respond at a time of its choosing,
02:01at a place of its choosing and through whatever means it chooses to do so.
02:06I would not second-guess the government or the armed forces,
02:10or pre-guess the government or the armed forces' decision at this time.
02:14In the past few hours, we've heard from Masoud Azhar,
02:17leader of Jaichul Mohamed,
02:19an international terrorist as designated by the UN Security Council.
02:23Jaichul Mohamed, banned by your country,
02:25banned by the UN and by many other nations as well.
02:28He says family members and at least four of his aides,
02:32he says these are his quotes,
02:33have been killed in the Indian strikes.
02:35It surely will serve as vindication from India's perspective
02:39that it was targeting terrorist elements that were in your country.
02:42This is absolute fiction.
02:44It has been rebuffed.
02:45I'm correcting your quote that originates from fake news
02:50circulating on Pakistani social media
02:52and has been rebuffed by local or receptive journalists
02:56who are impartial and have a long history on this matter.
02:59India has manufactured a lie of a baseless accusation against Pakistan.
03:07If there was any truth to this lie,
03:09why did they not agree to Pakistan's offer for an impartial investigation?
03:13Why did they not wait for the international journalists
03:15who were already visiting these alleged sites to come up with their response?
03:20The truth is that India has manufactured this lie to target Indian civilians.
03:25It is not 2001.
03:26It is not 2003.
03:28Not all Muslims are terrorists.
03:29And the world is sick and tired of the way in which this accusation is bandied about
03:34to justify aggressive actions, to justify illegal actions,
03:37to justify imperialistic actions.
03:40And Pakistan, for one, will not kneel to such pressure.
03:43Do you think there is the potential for that independent investigation
03:48as you had called for, or do you think that has now passed?
03:51Pakistan has repeatedly called and continues to call for an impartial inquiry.
03:55We do so because our hands are clean.
03:58We were not involved in this attack.
04:01We condemned this attack from the outset.
04:03If India was certain of Pakistan's involvement,
04:07if India had nothing to hide,
04:08then they too would have agreed in the past to our call for an independent inquiry.
04:14And I reiterate today on your program,
04:16Pakistan's readiness for a neutral, impartial inquiry
04:19into the terrorist attack that took place in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
04:24Donald Trump has responded.
04:25The international community is responding.
04:27We've heard reaction from the Turks, for example.
04:29Do you welcome international support?
04:31And if so, who's best placed to try and de-escalate the situation?
04:35I think India has once again endangered the peace,
04:38not only in South Asia, but in the region of the world.
04:44And I think there is a role for the international community to play
04:47to ensure that this situation doesn't keep festering itself.
04:52I think the first step absolutely would be to engage with India
04:56and ensure that sanity prevails.
04:59But we have to go beyond that.
05:00We have to reiterate or join in Pakistan's call
05:03for an impartial, neutral inquiry that can form the basis,
05:06not only to come to the roots of this terrorist attack,
05:09but any future terrorist attack.
05:11Or do Pakistan and India want non-state actors,
05:14want terrorists to be those who decide the fate
05:16of the populations of both our countries?
05:18I think that Pakistan's call for an impartial inquiry
05:20is a sound one, is a reasonable one.
05:23It forms a pathway not only for us to come out of this immediate crisis,
05:27but also a road back to come out of future such terrorist attacks.
05:32We cannot normalise this practice that has become increasingly practiced
05:37in international affairs, that without any proof,
05:40without any evidence, countries conduct illegal strikes.
05:45I'm sorry to stop here, but we are at the top of the hour.
05:47We're about to run out of time.
05:48But thank you for your time.