United Nations– Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has acknowledged that Pakistan’s campaign to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations and on the global stage has encountered persistent challenges.
“At the UN and beyond, the hurdles we face concerning the Kashmir cause still remain,” Bhutto said during a press conference in New York on Tuesday. He is leading a delegation of Pakistani parliamentarians on a diplomatic visit to the U.S.
While Bhutto claimed he received a “receptive response” from UN officials and diplomats on issues such as terrorism and water, he admitted that the same interest did not extend to Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
Bhutto, who also chairs the Pakistan People’s Party, pushed back against a question from a Palestinian journalist who attempted to draw parallels between Kashmir and Gaza—an analogy sometimes promoted by Pakistani officials. He firmly rejected the comparison.
“Let me be clear from the outset—there is no meaningful comparison between the plight of Palestinians and that of Pakistan or Kashmir,” he said. “What’s happening in Gaza is uniquely outrageous, inhumane, and condemnable in every way.”
However, Bhutto then alleged that India was modeling its policies on those of Israel, claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attempting to emulate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though he asserted Modi was “nowhere near him.”
The Pakistani delegation’s visit comes in response to India’s diplomatic outreach through Operation Sindoor, a campaign to reinforce its zero-tolerance stance on terrorism following the Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. India has been sending all-party delegations abroad to present its position and counter Pakistan’s narrative.
Since arriving in New York on Monday, Bhutto’s delegation has met with top UN figures, including Secretary-General António Guterres, General Assembly President Philemon Yang, and Security Council President Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. They have also held discussions with the permanent representatives of the U.S., China, Russia, and France, as well as with non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The Pakistani team is scheduled to be in Washington on Wednesday—the same day that an Indian parliamentary delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor will also be holding meetings in the U.S. capital. The simultaneous presence of both delegations underscores the ongoing diplomatic tug-of-war between the two nations on the international stage. (Source: IANS)
