Foreign Minister Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari has defended his recent remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he was referring to “a historical fact”.
At a news conference inside the UN last week, Bilawal had described Modi as “the butcher of Gujarat,” adding that instead of being punished for the 2002 massacre of over 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat, he was made the prime minister.
He was responding to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar’s remarks who, for two days in a row, had called Pakistan “the host of Osama bin Laden” and the “perpetrator of terrorism.”
The Indian government had heavily criticised Bilawal’s remarks while workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had staged protests in parts of the country, including outside the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. Some workers had also burnt an effigy of Bilawal.
In an interview with Bloomberg published today, 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.
“It’s been two days since my remark — 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.
US on Pak-India war of words
Hours after Bilawal reached Washington for talks with US officials, the US offered to assist India and Pakistan in resolving their differences, reminding them that they were key global partners and that America would like to continue ‘valuable partnerships’ with both.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price addressed a news 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 to 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”.
“As far as these disagreements are concerned […] we have partnerships with both countries and that makes us not want to see wars of words between India and Pakistan. We would like to see constructive dialogue between India and Pakistan.”
As the ruling BJP organised demonstrations in various parts of India to protest Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks about the Indian prime minister, the Pakistani foreign minister urged the Narendra Modi-led party on Saturday to protest against unrelenting discrimination and hatred that Indian Muslims face in their own country, instead of protesting against him.
At a news conference inside the UN earlier this week, Mr Bhutto-Zardari had described Mr Modi as “the butcher of Gujarat,” adding that instead of being punished for the 2002 massacre of over 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat, he was made the prime minister.
He was responding to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar’s remarks who, for two days in a row, had called Pakistan “the host of Osama bin Laden” and the “perpetrator of terrorism.”
“My comments were based in history, and it is difficult to distort history,” said Mr Bhutto-Zardari when asked about the BJP’s protests against him. “You cannot rewrite history to suit your likes and dislikes.”
Talking to the Pakistani media in New York, he said: “The history is a witness to the role the current Indian prime minister played in Gujarat. No matter how hard the BJP or RSS protests, they cannot distort history.”
The foreign minister said he did not coin the term “Butcher of Gujarat, Indian citizens gave this title to him (Modi). So, no matter how much you protest, you cannot change facts.”
“They must also condemn the Muslim genocide in Gujarat, and condemn the way Muslims in India, who are the largest minority in the world, are treated. I wish... they had also protested for their own Muslim citizens — who are now the victims of discrimination, hatred — instead of targeting me.”
He said instead of trying to curb this hatred, “their own government instigates people against Indian Muslims”.
The FM said if the purpose of these protests was to scare Pakistan, it would not work. “We are not afraid of RSS. We are not afraid of Mr Modi. We are not afraid of the BJP. If they want to protest, they should.”
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office rejected the statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), reported PPI.
Responding to media queries about Friday’s statement by the Indian MEA, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement said that the MEA’s statement is also a reflection of India’s growing frustration over its failure in maligning and isolating Pakistan.
She said after being unable to prevent Pakistan’s exit from FATF grey list and international recognition of Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts, India is desperately using international platforms to advance its agenda to defame and target Pakistan.
In Uttar Pradesh, the agitation against Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks started on Friday as BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary issued a statement, calling his remarks “indecent” and “shameful”.
BJP workers staged a protest in Mathura on Friday and burnt an effigy of the foreign minister.
In Lucknow, BJP workers gathered at the Atal Chowk and started a march, shouting slogans against the FM.
In Delhi, BJP workers protested outside the Pakistan Embassy. Their leaders in Pune led by Maharashtra party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule held a protest at Tilak Chowk and raised anti-Pakistan slogans.
Mr Bawankule told PTI: “We will not tolerate any statement against our prime minister. PM Narendra Modi is the one who is striving hard to save our Hindu religion, and Pakistan is unable to see it. That is why they are making such statements.”
Similar protests were also held in Mumbai, Karnataka, Telangana, Jammu and Bhubhaneswar.
