Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated on Tuesday that Pakistan made significant diplomatic progress during the previous fifteen months thanks to robust engagements with the international community.
Bilawal takes tough line on cross-border terrorism: The foreign minister declared during a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that “diplomacy is back” as a result of intense interaction with the international community and the launch of the “Digitised system under Foreign Minister’s Change Management Reforms”.
He continued that it was also a fitting retort to those who were crowing about Pakistan’s global isolation.
The foreign minister claimed that under his leadership, Pakistan had increased its global outreach and viewpoint on various issues, leading to success at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after the country was taken off the “grey list” and the climate change issue. He also credited Pakistan’s engagements with Middle Eastern nations, the US, China, and other UN members for this.
He said that the international community came to support Pakistan in its relief and recovery efforts during last year’s floods and in the aftermath.
Following the rescue operations, the UN General Assembly members successfully organised the Climate Resilient Pakistan meeting in Geneva, receiving “a substantive and qualitative response.”
In response to a media question, Foreign Minister Bilawal reaffirmed that Pakistan was not eager to participate in the “blocs policy” and would make decisions based on the greater national interests. He claimed that Pakistan had emphasised the importance of resolving all global disputes through diplomatic negotiations.
“FM’s Firm Stance on Terrorism and Calls for Action Against Afghan Militants”
In response to a different question about terrorist organisations, he reaffirmed that the government would not take any action to placate the militant or terrorist groupings and that the writ of the state would be established at all costs.
We have dealt with them in the past, and we will deal with them together, he continued. He claimed to have advised the prime minister to call a meeting of the supreme committee to discuss the subject of terrorist and criminal incidents around the nation.
After the fall of Kabul, the foreign minister claimed, there was a rise in terrorist occurrences. He continued, saying that terrorist groups and criminal organisations constituted a threat to the country since they had acquired the newest weapons and ammunition.
In response to a question, the foreign minister added that they expected the Afghan interim government to act against terrorist groups and uphold their promise to the international community not to use their territory for terrorist activities against other countries as part of the Doha Agreement.
As cooperation against the threat of terrorism was in the interests of both nations, he claimed that Pakistan’s position was clear and that it had urged the Afghan interim government established to combat terrorism.
He believed that Afghanistan’s lack of a standing army, anti-terrorist force, or border management force contributed to its limited ability to combat terrorism. Further, He claimed that Pakistan was prepared to help them because they lacked the competence to handle such threats. He claimed that Pakistan may take action against Afghan militants.
“Foreign Minister Stresses on Democratic Structure and Initiatives for Enhanced Ministry Operations”
In response to a different question, the foreign minister stated the PPP thought choices on an interim government and elections should be made to enhance civil institutions and the nation’s democratic structure.
He added that the general elections should be held on schedule so that people could exercise their right to vote. He said they thought that all of the challenges the country was facing could be resolved through a democratic dispensation, which would stabilise the political and economic stability.
Regarding the reforms implemented at the ministry, the foreign minister stated that several projects were started under the crucial four components, which would enhance the ministry’s operation by making it more flexible, nimble, and effective to handle newly developing difficulties.
According to him, a total of 51 initiatives were started across several work streams, of which 19 were finished, 3 were partially implemented, and 29 were on track to be finished.
Diplomats, government representatives, and Pakistani embassies overseas participated in the ceremony via video link, in addition to State Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khan.
Later, the foreign minister launched the ministry’s transition to solar power.