PTI slams Bilawal over extradition remarks, demands explanation

ISLAMABAD: PTI has denounced PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks suggesting Pakistan could extradite citizens to India as a confidence-building measure (CBM), accusing him of undermining national security and appeasing a hostile neighbour.

According to reports, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had no objection to handing over “individuals of concern” to India, provided New Delhi showed a willingness to cooperate.

In a hard-hitting statement on Saturday, PTI CIS Sheikh Waqas Akram criticised the PPP chairman’s stance, calling him an “immature political child”. He said the proposal was ill-advised and detrimental to Pakistan’s national security narrative, adding that such statements humiliate the country on international platforms.

Mr Akram accused the “fraudulently imposed” government of bringing Pakistan to its knees.

Accuses PPP chairman of appeasing India, undermining national security

“We fail to understand why Bilawal is so keen on appeasing India,” he asked, alleging that the PPP chairman was proving time and again that he lacked political wisdom, vision and understanding of regional geopolitics.

“Instead of holding India accountable for its continued aggression, water terrorism and cross-border interference, Bilawal was proposing CBMs that compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity,” he said.

He emphasised that it was imperative to ask Mr Bhutto-Zardari on whose behalf he issued such a statement and what he intended to achieve by offering such concessions to a belligerent India by humiliating Pakistan on an international stage. Mr Akram also criticised the PPP chairman’s inconsistency.

“Bilawal has become a symbol of confusion and contradiction in Pakistan’s foreign policy discourse,” he said. “PPP was founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on the legacy of Kashmir, but today, Bilawal is betraying that legacy by pursuing political gains at the expense of Kashmiri blood.” Mr Akram went on to mock Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s political credentials, stating that leadership is earned, not built through media appearances and styling. “If PPP’s intelligentsia truly cares about Bilawal, they should let him contest local body elections first and appear on regional TV channels instead of being pushed on international media, where he only embarrasses Pakistan,” he stated.

He said the PPP chairman would lead the party to complete elimination, advising that if the party wanted to survive, he must step aside and hand over its leadership to Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, “who, at the very least, shows more promise and sense than him”.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2025