Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that it was no secret that Pakistan had a past, and the consequences of that were deeply felt within the country.
"As far as what the defence minister (Khawaja Muhammad Asif) said, I don’t think it is a secret that Pakistan has a past.
As a result, we have suffered, Pakistan has suffered. We have suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learnt our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem," he said.
This is one of 'acknowledging' Pakistan's past association with extremist elements.
Bilawal's remarks came during an interview with Sky News, where he responded to a question regarding earlier comments by Pakistan's Defence Minister Khwaja Asif on the country's link to terror groups.
In a related development Greece has said that UN Security Council (UNSC) could meet "sooner rather than later" to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan.
The UNSC has already issued a statement but a diluted one and without naming the Resistance Front after Pakistan and China objected to it.
The UNSC meet again would be an opportunity to express views and help defuse tensions, Greece now the UNSC President said.
"Of course, if a request comes for a meeting, then...I think this meeting should take place because, as we said, maybe it's also an opportunity to have views expressed and this might help to defuse tensions a bit. We will see," said Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of May,
(India Today/Press Trust of India)
Notably, on April 29, UN Secretary General spoke separately by telephone with Pakistan PM Shebaz Sharif and India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The Secretary-General reiterated his strong condemnation of the 22 April terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The Secretary-General noted the importance of pursuing justice and accountability for these attacks through lawful means.
The Secretary-General also expressed his deep concern at rising tensions between India and Pakistan and underscored the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences. He offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation efforts -- a UN readout said.
"We are in close contact... but this is something which might happen, I would say, sooner rather than later. We will see, we are preparing. It's the first day of our (UNSC) presidency," the Greece envoy at the UNSC said.
Sekeris briefed UN reporters on Thursday about the Council's work programme under Greece's month-long presidency of the 15-nation UN body. He was asked about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and whether he had received any request for a meeting or consultations on the issue in the Council.
In response to a question by PTI on India being a victim of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which now sits in the Council as a non-permanent member, Sekeris said,
-- "It's an issue which is very pertinent. As I said before, as a matter of principle, we strongly condemn any act of terrorism, and this is what we did" regarding the "heinous terrorist attack" in Pahalgam, in which innocent civilians died.
The Greece envoy said, "We are also joining others who are calling for de-escalation and dialogue so that the situation does not spiral out of control." He added that "larger" member states are already in contact with both sides.
"I'm not in a position to reply directly to your question, but with plain logic, this is something which might probably happen.
I mean, if the situation does not de-escalate, calling for an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council is something that can come as a consequence, because it's actually the main business of the Security Council."
Earlier this week, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said he had a "good conversation" with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and had "discussed the Pahalgam terrorist attack."
India welcomed Greece's firm opposition to cross-border terrorism and said, "Our Strategic Partnership reflects the depth of our ties," Jaishankar said. Sekeris added that bilaterally, "We have excellent bilateral cooperation with India" and noted visits by Greek and Indian leaders to each other's countries.
ends
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