WASHINGTON: Thursday marked the conclusion of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s week-long visit to the United States with a plea to the international community to assist Pakistan in recovering from the devastation caused by floods.
Pakistan’s rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts were also the subjects of his conversations with high-ranking lawmakers and officials from the United States, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A statement released on Wednesday afternoon following his meeting with the US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman stated, “The deputy secretary and the foreign minister discussed Pakistan’s continuing efforts to recover from devastating floods and noted the upcoming Jan. 9 International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva.”
Mr. Bhutto-Zardari and Secretary Blinken spoke on the phone a day ago about the floods and the UN-sponsored Geneva conference. There was no in-person meeting between them.
They “committed to strengthening counterterrorism cooperation between the two nations,” according to the statement released following his meeting with Ms. Sherman.
They also discussed cooperation in the economic, energy, and environmental sectors.
Read: Apocalyptic Floods of Pakistan
The statement added that the deputy secretary and the foreign minister also talked about “the Taliban’s deplorable decision to further restrict women’s and girls’ access to education” and “efforts to hold the Taliban to its commitments regarding women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.”
The foreign minister met with Pakistani media for the first and only time on his trip to Washington on Wednesday evening. During the meeting, he also talked about how important it is to keep working on rehabilitation and reconstruction, especially in Sindh and Balochistan.
Mr. Bhutto Zardari responded, “No, I am not on an SOS plan,” when asked if he had brought an SOS message to Washington to save the Pakistani economy from possible collapse.
He said, “We talked about not just the floods but also the economic situation.” He added that the floods, which inundated more than a third of Pakistan, had caused “a historical humanitarian crisis.”
He stated, “It is the right of the victims that we talk about them first; however, there was no SOS call.”
Read: Floods Making History in Pakistan
The foreign minister claimed that during his meetings with US officials, lawmakers, and think-tank scholars, he reiterated this message.
He said that the meeting on January 9 in Geneva will be the first of many because Pakistan will soon hold roadshows to raise awareness of the issue.
“We additionally need support from global monetary associations, similar to the World Bank,” he said.
The foreign minister mentioned that Pakistan was also dealing with the effects of the war in Ukraine, which had a significant impact on the global economy. Because of this, international assistance was required,” he added.
He responded that Pakistan will not declare war on Afghanistan when asked to explain his earlier statement that the TTP was Pakistan’s “absolute red line” and that it would not permit cross-border attacks into Pakistan.
However, these cross-border attacks must be stopped by the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.
According to Mr. Bhutto-Zardari, holding direct talks with the TTP would not be helpful because they would not listen to logic and would not be persuaded to stop using violence.
Read: Timeline of Talks with Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan(TTP)
Similar statements include “They will not become peaceful, chant Pakistan Zindabad, and lay down weapons.”
“Just a mallet and iron block approach, with Kabul’s help, would work,” he said. However, he did stress the significance of engaging the Afghan Taliban.
“They are neighbors of ours. He stated, “We need to talk to them and keep them interested.”
Mr. Bhutto-Zardari made a statement regarding the political situation, stating that the former prime minister Imran Khan wanted early elections “because he still has his men in certain institutions.”
Mr. Khan wanted to use his assets in those institutions to rig the elections, according to the foreign minister, “but we will not allow this.” Timely elections will be held.
He stated that “this parliament will too,” as the previous two parliaments had completed their five-year terms. We cannot hold elections earlier than necessary to please Imran Khan. Elections will be held when they are required, in 2023. If his wish to return to power is not realized, the sky will not fall.
