At the UN, Bilawal Bhutto’s claim that India demonises Muslims during Operation Sindoor was countered by a Bangladeshi journalist who pointed out Muslim officers led the mission’s briefing. Bhutto conceded, saying “absolutely right.”

Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari faced a strong pushback during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Bhutto had claimed that India was “demonising Muslims” during its ongoing Operation Sindoor, a major military and humanitarian mission launched after the Pahalgam terror attack.

 

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But a journalist directly challenged this remark, pointing out that Indian Muslim military officers were actually leading the briefings on Operation Sindoor. The reporter mentioned witnessing one such briefing himself, leaving Bhutto visibly caught off guard. The Pakistani leader eventually nodded and admitted, “Absolutely right.”

Operation Sindoor briefing

The Indian government had assigned two senior officers to lead the public briefings on Operation Sindoor, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Army’s Corps of Signals and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, a helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force. These briefings were also supported by India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Their leadership during a sensitive counter-terrorism and humanitarian mission helped underline India’s secular credentials and inclusion of minorities in defence and diplomacy.

Bhutto seeks India-Pakistan dialogue despite tensions

Despite the tension, Bhutto also expressed willingness for India-Pakistan cooperation on terrorism. “We can’t leave the fate of 1.5 or 1.7 billion people in the hands of non-state actors,” he said, urging dialogue and intelligence sharing between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

He criticised what he called India’s attempt to “impose a new abnormal” in the region following the Pahalgam massacre.

Admits repeated failures on Kashmir at global forums

During the same interaction, Bhutto publicly acknowledged that Pakistan’s attempts to raise the Kashmir issue at global forums like the UN had faced repeated setbacks.

“The hurdles we face within the UN and in general, as far as the Kashmir cause is concerned, still exist,” he said, marking a rare public admission by a senior Pakistani leader.

Parallel diplomacy: India and Pakistan send delegations to the US

Bhutto is currently heading a parliamentary delegation to the United States to present Islamabad’s narrative on regional issues, including Kashmir, terrorism, and water sharing. His team arrived in New York on Monday and met key UN officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, General Assembly President Philemon Yang, and Security Council President Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.

The delegation also held talks with representatives from the United States, China, Russia, France, and other UN Security Council member states.

Interestingly, the Pakistani delegation’s US tour overlaps with that of an Indian delegation led by senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Both teams are attempting to shape global opinion following the Pahalgam terror attack and the launch of Operation Sindoor.