Bilawal Bhutto urges India to come with ‘open hands, not clenched fists’

Pakistan People's Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said if India wants peace, it should come forward with “open hands and not clenched fists”, amid tensions between the two neighbours following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The former foreign minister made the remarks during the National Assembly session, where discussions took place on the regional security situation.

Bilawal urged both India and Pakistan to work together and said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's “challenge to India for an impartial investigation is a start".

He added that New Delhi should accept the offer.

“If India wishes to walk the path of peace, let them come with open hands and not clenched fists...Let us sit as neighbours and speak the truth,” he said.

The PPP leader added that Pakistan would fight for freedom and not for conflict in the case of a war.

“If they (India) do not (want peace), then let them remember that the people of Pakistan are not made to kneel. The people of Pakistan have a resolve to fight, not because we love conflict, but because we love freedom,” he added.

“Let India decide. Will it be dialogue or destruction? Cooperation or confrontation?” Bilawal said.

He said terrorism cannot be defeated by a tank alone. "It (terrorism) must be defeated with justice. It cannot be uprooted by bullets, it must be disarmed with hope. It cannot be defeated by demonising nations but by addressing the grievances that give it birth."

Last week, Bilawal had warned of bloodshed over the issue of water after India announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only operational land border crossing at Attari and downgrading of diplomatic ties following the terror attack.