Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto describes his India visit as a success

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday said his visit to Goa was a “success” as he advocated his countrys case on the soil of India.

His remarks came hours after his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar accused him of being a “promoter, justifier and a spokesperson of a terror industry.” Addressing a press conference after his return from Goa where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisations (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting, Bhutto Zardari said his trip to India was a success as it helped to negate the view that every Muslim was a terrorist.

We made an attempt at breaking this myth, Bhutto-Zardari said.

Jaishankar mounted an offensive against Bhutto-Zardari in his address at the SCO meeting, contending Pakistan foreign ministers statement that terrorism shouldnt be “weaponised for diplomatic point-scoring”, in remarks seen as directed at India.

Hours later at a press conference, Jaishankar said Bhutto-Zardaris statement on the weaponisation of terrorism unconsciously revealed a mindset.

“As a foreign minister of an SCO member state, Bhutto-Zardari was treated accordingly. As a promoter, justifier and a spokesperson of a terrorism industry, which is the mainstay of Pakistan, his positions were called out and they were countered including at the SCO meeting itself,” Jaishankar said.

Responding to a question about talks with India, Bhutto-Zardari said that Pakistan was clear that India should create a conducive environment for talks by restoring the pre-August 5, 2019 status of Kashmir.

He also said that countries from Central Asia were looking forward to becoming part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said every country except India supported and praised CPEC.

Earlier, Bhutto-Zardari returned back on a special Pakistan Air Force plane from India and landed in Karachi where was received by the Sindh chief minister, Murad Ali Shah, and other cabinet members.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)