ISLAMABAD – Former Foreign Minister and Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has been given a key role in foreign policy amid cross-border tensions with India.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif picked Bilawal Zardari to lead a high-profile delegation to Europe, as Islamabad seeks to counter India’s international lobbying campaign following a recent escalation in regional tensions.
The move comes after a telephone conversation between the Prime Minister and Bilawal Bhutto, during which the PPP leader was formally asked to head the mission. Bilawal accepted the offer, expressing pride in representing Pakistan at this critical juncture.
Sharif led government formed special committee under Bilawal’s leadership. The delegation includes senior figures such as Federal Ministers Khurram Dastgir, Hina Rabbani Khar, and former diplomats Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua, among others.
The team is expected to visit key European capitals—Brussels, London, and Paris—to brief governments and international organizations on Pakistan’s perspective. The diplomatic outreach follows heightened tensions between nuclear armed nations, triggered by deadly attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad without presenting conclusive evidence, and Pakistan then launched “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos,” targeting Indian military positions. Pakistani officials reported the downing of six Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale aircraft, and multiple drones.
