ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has defended his remarks after referring to Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, as the “butcher of Gujarat” on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting, noting that he merely referred to “a historical fact”.
Modi, a far-right extremist, is accused of not doing enough to prevent the killings of nearly 1,000 Muslims during the 2002 riots in India’s western state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister.
In saying so, Zardari responded to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar’s propaganda who had called Pakistan “the host of Osama bin Laden” and the “perpetrator of terrorism” in the region.
The remark sparked outrage among Indian government officials, with foreign ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, saying it was a “new low even for Pakistan.”
In an interview with Bloomberg, the foreign minister said: “I was referring to a historical reality. The remarks I used were not my own. I did not call I did not invent the term ‘Butcher of Gujarat’ for Mr Modi. The Muslims in India following the Gujarat riots used that term for Mr Modi.”
“I believe I was referring to a historical fact, and they believe that repeating history is a personal insult,” he said.
Foreign Minister of Pakistan @BBhuttoZardari‘s interview with Bloomberg https://t.co/CDX7iiIRpk
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) December 19, 2022
“It’s been two days since my remarks […] a member of Mr Modi’s party has announced a 20 million rupee bounty on my head. So, I don’t think the best way to disprove the fact that Mr Modi is the ‘Butcher of Gujarat’ is to adopt such extreme steps,” he said.
He said he considered the threats against him by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India as “crossing the line”.
“I think you have crossed the line when you officially announce head money for your neighbouring country’s foreign minister’s assassination,” he said.
Hours after Zardari reached Washington for talks with US officials, America offered to assist Pakistan and India in resolving their differences, reminding the two nations they were key global partners and that it would like to continue “valuable partnerships” with both.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price addressed a press briefing in which he responded to a question about last week’s war of words between Bilawal and his Indian counterpart.
“We have a global strategic partnership with India. I have just spoken about the depth of our partnership with Pakistan. The two relationships stand on their own. It’s not a zero-sum relationship,” he said.
The US, he said, sees the importance of maintaining these valuable partnerships with our Indian and our Pakistani friends, adding that they had a relationship in which “we can be friends with both”.
