KARACHI: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has called on the country’s political leadership to wake up to the threat posed by militant groups including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Speaking to the BBC's Lyse Doucet in an interview, Bilawal said some of the country’s political leaders were afraid to take a clearly defined position on the issue of talks with the Taliban.
The PPP chairman said “we are failing” as the country’s brave voices were dying out one after the other, adding that if we acted in unison, the Taliban would not be able to challenge us.
On the topic of negotiations with the Taliban, Bilawal said Pakistan should maintain a strong position and for that the militants would have to first be defeated and subdued.
Bilawal added that there was no consensus in the country on the issue of holding talks and whatever consensus had been developed earlier was wasted by the politicians who called Pakistan’s war America’s war.
Moreover, Bilawal opined that such politicians had pushed the nation into a mirage, adding that talks must be held on the condition of the Taliban laying down their weapons.
The patron-in-chief of PPP also reflected that his life was threatened due to him being stridently against the actions of the Taliban.
On the issue of elections, he said his objective was not to become the country’s prime minister but to unite the nation and bring peace and stability in the country.