Desk:Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who recently issued a threatening remark to India over the Indus Waters Treaty—saying “if water doesn’t flow in the Indus, blood will”—has now made a startling admission that has exposed Pakistan’s dark past to the world.
In a recent interview with Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim, Bilawal Bhutto endorsed a controversial statement made by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The minister had earlier admitted that Pakistan has supported terrorism, saying, “We did this dirty work for the United States and Western countries for nearly three decades. We trained terrorists, funded them, and even did it for the UK.”
Bilawal backed this statement, saying, “As far as the Defence Minister’s remarks are concerned, I don’t think it’s a secret that Pakistan has a history. We have paid the price for it. A wave of extremism swept through our country, and we suffered because of it. But we’ve also learned some lessons and undertaken internal reforms to deal with this issue.”
He acknowledged that Pakistan has a past deeply rooted in extremism—something that cannot be denied. However, he emphasized that the country has moved forward. “Yes, it was our unfortunate past, but it is behind us. Today’s decisions are not influenced by that history,” Bilawal added. He stressed that Pakistan is now taking steps to combat terrorism and those efforts are showing results.
Khawaja Asif, in his earlier statement, was asked whether Pakistan has a history of supporting terrorism by funding and training terrorists. He replied, “Yes, we did this dirty work for over three decades for the U.S., the West, and even the UK. It was a mistake, and we paid the price. That’s why these questions are being asked today. Had we not participated in the war against the Soviet Union or supported the U.S. post-9/11, our story would have been very different.”