ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday vociferously condemned the USstrikeson Iran’s nuclear sites, noting that the Israeli government was forcing the American public into a war that the people do not support.
“This is done through the same lie that was peddled to the American public before the Iraq war in 2003. Now it has been claimed that Iran is the one with weapons of mass destruction,” he said while speaking in the National Assembly.
The PPP chairman said that after decades of repeating the same lie—that Iran was just days away from developing nuclear weapons, a claim made by the Israeli prime minister in 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2023, 2024, and 2025 — Israel’s regime has finally attacked Iran under the pretext of this falsehood, which he deeply regretted.
Condemning the attack on Iran, he said the strike was in violation of international law. “Military leadership of Iran was targeted not on the frontlines or the battlefield, but while they slept in their homes, resulting in the loss of not only their lives but the loss of lives of other innocent civilians. Not only military personnel, but scientists, journalists and media institutions have been targeted.”
“Any attack on nuclear facilities is not just a potential attack on Iran; if there is any radiaton, it would have consequences for all neighbouring countries in the region, including Pakistan,” he observed. He called on the government to mobilise the foreign minister to form a group of like-minded counterparts who not only oppose the conflict but also represent countries whose people are at risk.
Quoting a poem written in the context of World War II, Chairman Bilawal said: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.
“Since October 2023, we have seen a genocidal, apartheid-imposing expansionist regime conducting and ever-expanding war which has the potential to drag us all into World War III. This time, first they came for the Palestinians but the world did not speak out because they weren’t Palestinian. Then they came for the Lebanese, but we did not speak out because we were not Lebanese.
“Then they came for the Yemenis but we did not speak out because we are not from Yemen. Now they have come for Iran. If we do not speak out, there will be no one left when they come for us,” Chairman Bilawal said.
The Israeli regime’s aggression across the region must be stopped, we want to see the day when we can all live in peace. We can only start working towards that peace if the Netanyahu regime is stopped from its illegal war with Iran, forced to abide by the terms of its withdrawal and ceasefire in Lebanon and end its apartheid and genocide in Palestinian lands. As it continues to bomb Iran, the world must not forget that this Israeli Netanyahu regime is carrying out forced starvation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip“ he said.
Cheaper copy of Netanyahu
Chiding India, he said that in South Asia too, there was a cheaper copy of Netanyahu. “We can say with pride that this cheaper version was defeated militarily, diplomatically and in terms of narrative”, he remarked.
The former foreign minister further said that when India violated the rights of Kashmiris in 2019, the then-PM of Pakistan had expressed helplessness. “This time, when Kashmir was attacked, and Pakistan was attacked, we did not bow or succumb to fear; we fought a war and won.”
Referring to the unilateral suspension of Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) by India as water terrorism, he said the treaty even today was binding on India and Pakistan. “If India decides to implement this threat, we would have to fight another war.”
Share for south Punjab
He stated that the PPP had specific goals it hoped to achieve in this budget, but they could not be fulfilled.
The former foreign minister said that during consultations with the government, the PPP had desired for south Punjab to get its 30 per cent share from the PSDP. “While this was not possible in the current round of negotiations, we were assured that the next budget would allow us to bridge this discrepancy,” he said.
He further stated that another objective of the PPP was to ensure that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan receive federal funding as they are the most vulnerable to terrorism.
Expressing his disappointment, he said that agriculture was the backbone of our economy, but the government’s policies were impairing it.
“We were also compelled to not set a support price or procure from our farmers. Where should the farmers go? At this point, we cannot justify the losses we have incurred as a result of our own policies on the agricultural front. As a result of these decisions, we have sustained a damage worth Rs800 billion when it comes to the wheat crop.” He said that the total wheat loss for the farmers of Sindh has amounted to Rs150bn, including Rs24bn for Larkana, Rs26bn for Sukkur, Rs30bn for Shaheed Benazirabad, Rs22bn for Hyderabad, Rs10bn for Mirpurkhas, Rs12bn for Karachi, and Rs4bn each for Sajawal and Thatta.
Mr Bhutto advised the PTI to shun the politics of opposition for the sake of opposition, talk to the government and make positive proposals so that a positive impact can be felt by the people.
He said that a change in strategy can not only benefit the PTI, but also the whole country.
