Modi’s plot against Kashmir will fail: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD/ MUZAFFARABAD: In a scathing attack on India, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Tuesday declared that the Modi government’s conspiracy against Kashmir will not succeed. He asserted that every child understands this agenda, which he characterised as a deliberate attempt to sow infighting and sever the brotherly bond between Pakistan and the Kashmiri people.

Bilawal was addressing after the newly elected AJK PM Rathore took the oath on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal Bhutto said that the crushing defeat inflicted on India in May was historic and asserted that Pakistan’s international standing is going up while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hiding from the world, whether at the United Nations or ASEAN forums and has been defeated like a coward. Modi knows he will be reminded of the 7-0 defeat. “As the former foreign minister, I can assert that Pakistan’s international standing is going up,” he said.

Bilawal said every child understands India’s agenda regarding Kashmir, which is to create infighting and damage the brotherly bond between Pakistan and Kashmir. “This conspiracy of the Modi government will not succeed. Nothing can taint the relationship between the people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan.” He said the PPP’s relationship with the Kashmiri people spans three generations, and no one can drive a wedge between them. Bilawal recalled Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto waited outside the Saudi King’s door with a file in her hand. “When the King asked why she was waiting, she replied that she was there for her brothers in Kashmir.”

The chairman PPP said that it was his desire for the people of Kashmir to attain membership in the OIC. He recalled that as foreign minister, while chairing a meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, he had the opportunity to beckon the then president of Kashmir to speak about his people.

He directed the elected AJK Prime Minister, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, to visit every nook and corner of AJK in his capacity as the prime minister and hold open kachehris, as Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto once did. He emphasized that the prime minister must go to the people and address their issues. “I will also request the federal government to extend all necessary support for the people of Kashmir,” he said. The chairman said that PPP AJK President Chaudhry Yasin will lead the party’s election campaign ahead of the elections scheduled to take place in six months. He instructed the party’s ticket holders to coordinate with Faisal Rathore and the AJK government for this purpose. “From now on, Faisal Rathore is your representative in Muzaffarabad,” Bilawal said, adding, “The promises he made to the people are a trust you have placed with me. We will not govern AJK by sitting in drawing rooms.” Bilawal said the PPP’s mandate was stolen in the past to bring Imran Khan into power. Earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Raja Faisal Rathore was sworn in as the new prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, a day after securing the assembly’s vote to replace the ousted Anwarul Haq.

Rathore was administered the oath by AJK Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Lateef Akbar during a ceremony in Muzaffarabad, which was attended by Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, senior party leader Faryal Talpur and other civil-military officials were also present at the oath-taking ceremony.

After being sworn in, the newly elected AJK PM thanked the PPP’s top leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Talpur, for entrusting him with the premier’s responsibility. “I pay tribute to the Pakistan Army, who are defending us by sacrificing their lives,” Rathore said in his speech. He further said that the PPP has taken the responsibility of restoring the relationship with the people. Rathore has become the 16th AJK PM and the fourth of the current assembly.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned the newly elected AJK-PM and congratulated him on his election victory. Shehbaz said that the uplift of AJK people was among the federal government’s priorities. “We are determined to work with the AJK government for the welfare, economic development and security of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” he said and assured that his government will extend all-out cooperation in this regard.