Tag: Foreign Minister

  • Davos Playbook names Bilawal as the best-dressed person at world economic forum

    Davos Playbook names Bilawal as the best-dressed person at world economic forum

    Politico‘s Davos Playbook on Thursday named Pakistani Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as the best-dressed person at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

    The playbook is published every year during the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    Apart from the Pakistani minister, the playbook talked about the other politicians and personalities from all over the world who came to attend the international event. Moreover, it reported on all events that happened on Thursday.

    Bilawal, along with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, is currently in Davos. The four-day international event will end today (Friday).

    Here, have a look at Bilawal’s pictures during the event.

  • Don’t tell our women what needs to be done

    Don’t tell our women what needs to be done

    Women political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy. It facilitates women’s direct engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women. But here in Pakistan, women in politics are seen as a threat to the fragile egos of some male politicians.

    When we talk about women’s political participation, it is easy for us to imagine the empty seats around the decision-making table, and a little more difficult to picture the many obstacles and challenges women face to get into those seats. When the same empty seats are filled by women, they somehow become a threat and danger. Recently, Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) MNA Abdul Akbar Chitrali criticised State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on her recent visit to Afghanistan. Chitrali said that he was not against any female minister, but he believed that the government should have included some tribal elders in the Khar-led delegation that visited Afghanistan. In response to his sexist statement, women Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) from treasury benches extended their support for Khar. Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman said, “This debate on gender difference has ended in the entire world, as to who is a man and who a woman. People are known for their performance and merit and not for their gender. Our women are excelling internationally and continuing to do so.” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also spoke up, asking that all parliamentarians, especially the men, should encourage and acknowledge the competency of women ministers appointed on merit.“Hina represented Pakistan in Afghanistan. This is a moment of pride for the entire nation,” she said, rebuffing Chitrali’s objections.

    It is not the first time that we have seen sexism in parliament. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani called Sherry Rehman the “Senate’s dadi (grandmother)” when he asked a house member to keep the questions specific so that Sherry Rehman can answer the questions. “I would advise you to only ask specific questions so that Sherry Rehman, who is the dadi of this House, can give you the right answers,” Sanjrani said, adding that members should keep the environment of the House calm.

    This month we saw PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry advising Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and Sherry Rehman to quit politics and open a beauty parlour instead.

    The question remains: what are the male politicians so frightened of? Politicians need to learn that there is a a fine line between criticism and misogyny remarks. Our politicians and men in general of Pakistan need to do better. Women of Pakistan are fierce, resolute and hardworking — be it in any field of the world. They are trendsetters and opinion makers. They shall and will not be stopped.

  • Pak-China relations to restrengthen pledges Chinese delegation leader

    Pak-China relations to restrengthen pledges Chinese delegation leader

    Pak-China relations to re-strengthen, pledges Chinese delegation leader
    Chinese politician and Director of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission Yang Jiechi pledged to help re-strengthen Pakistan-China relations as he kickstarted his two-day trip to Islamabad with a meeting with Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday.

    “He assured to play his role for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels,” said the Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General (DG) Major-General Babar Iftikhar after the meeting with the army chief at the General Headquarters.

    Yang had a meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday as well. The PM highlighted the significance of Director Yang’s visit in furthering the bilateral relations between the two countries across all domains. In particular, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has strengthened the ties between China and Pakistan. The relationship between the two countries would continue to grow and prosper, bringing peace and stability to the region, noted Sharif.

    Yang also met Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

    “The two sides discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

    The meetings come at a sensitive time as the Pakistan-China relationship seems to be under strain after the April 26 attacks on three Chinese language teachers in Karachi.

  • ‘Our democracy is poorer without her’: Twitter remembers Benazir Bhutto on her 69th birth anniversary

    ‘Our democracy is poorer without her’: Twitter remembers Benazir Bhutto on her 69th birth anniversary

    The 69th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is being celebrated in a befitting manner on June 21. It is pertinent to mention that Benazir Bhutto was not only the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan but also the first woman Prime Minister in the Muslim World.

    Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari tweeted, “In life she was Benazir, in death she is Benazir. To her assassins we say; Tum zinda ho kr murda ho, wo mar kr phir bhi zinda hai.”

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, “Our democracy is poorer without her & the void left by her martyrdom will never be filled. She fearlessly & staunchly advocated the causes she believed in. May Allah rest her soul in peace.”

    Federal Minister Sherry Rehman tweeted, “Our journey together is still unfinished. Your redemptive light still guides many of us on a path you trod with infinite grace and courage. May you shine on forever.”

    Mushaal Hussein Mullick wished Benazir tweeted, “Beauty Brains and Bravery Personified.”

    Here is a look at the pictures from the time when Benazir Bhutto was alive.

  • ‘Foreign minister’s views interpreted out of context’: FO says no change in Pakistan’s policy on India

    ‘Foreign minister’s views interpreted out of context’: FO says no change in Pakistan’s policy on India

    Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson has said in a statement that Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks on India were being “interpreted out of context and portrayed incorrectly”.

    “There is no change in Pakistan’s policy on India on which there is a national consensus. Pakistan has always desired cooperative relations with all its neighbours, including India. We have consistently advocated constructive engagement and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the statement said.

    “India’s unabated hostility and retrogressive steps, however, have vitiated the environment and impeded the prospects of peace and cooperation. The onus, therefore, remains on India to take the necessary steps to create an enabling environment conducive to meaningful and result-oriented dialogue,” the FO statement said.

    Bilawal clearly articulated this perspective, “referring to India’s illegal and unilateral actions in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJK) since 5 August 2019, describing them as an assault on the rights of the Kashmiri people, as well as rising Islamophobia in India, that created an environment unconducive for meaningful engagement,” it added.

    “The foreign minister’s remarks are better understood in the overall context of his key message of conflict resolution that he emphasised in his address at the think-tank event,” the FO statement concluded.

    ‘Does it serve our objective that we have practically cut off all engagements with India?’: Bilawal Bhutto

    Bilawal advocated for re-engagement with India asking whether cutting ties with India served the country’s interests.

    “Does it serve our interests, do we achieve our objectives whatever they may be, be it Kashmir, be it rising Islamophobia, the Hindutva supremacist nature of the new regimes and the governments in India? Does it serve our objective that we have practically cut off all engagements,” asked Bilawal while speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.

    Bilawal identified India and the United States (US) as countries with which Pakistan’s relations were problematic.

    The foreign minister contended that if Pakistan had achieved economic engagement with India in the past, it would have been in a better position to influence Delhi’s policy and prevented both countries from taking extreme positions.

    In May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reached out to Bilawal soon after he took the foreign minister’s office and invited him to a food security conference. The two also met in New York on the sidelines of the forum.

  • Bilawal Bhutto defends ex-PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia

    Bilawal Bhutto defends ex-PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday strongly defended Imran Khan’s Moscow visit, saying there was no way for the former prime minister to know that Russia would invade Ukraine on the day he landed in the Russian capital.

    “As far the former prime minister’s trip to Russia, I would absolutely defend the former prime minister of Pakistan. He conducted that trip as part of his foreign policy and without knowing that — no one is psychic, no one has a sixth sense — there’s no way we could have possibly known that that would be the time [when] the current conflict will start,” Bilawal said.

    https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/1527401668916256770?s=20&t=KZ4uVQyjDUUPrLQdo_hRgA

    “And I believe it is very unfair to punish Pakistan for such an innocent action.”

    Pakistan, he said, was absolutely clear that it has to stand by the principles of the United Nations, including that of non-use of force, on this issue.

    “We are not part of any conflict. We do not wish to be part of any conflict. In fact, we would continue to emphasise the importance of peace,” he said.

    “We would continue to emphasise the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve this conflict as soon as possible. And we will certainly not take any side or take the side of any aggressor within this context.”

    Twitterati praised FM Bilawal Bhutto for the way he defended not only the formal premier but Pakistan as well. Netizens did not spare this chance to compare Bilawal with Khan.

  • Bilawal reaches New York, expected to meet Secretary of State Blinken

    Bilawal reaches New York, expected to meet Secretary of State Blinken

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari reached New York on Tuesday on his first official visit to the United States (US).

    The foreign minister has gone for a three-day official visit to attend a global food security meeting at the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

    According to the Foreign Office (FO), Bilawal will have other important engagements today (Wednesday) including a bilateral meeting with Blinken.

    The FM will also participate in an open discussion at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting. He is likely to meet the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the president of the UNSC.

    Bilawal was received by the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Masood Khan.

    As per FO, the meetings will bring together a regionally diverse group of countries, including those most affected by food insecurity and those in a position to take action to address it. Bilawal will highlight Pakistan’s perspective and policy priorities in the two meetings. 

    “Pakistan will continue to play a proactive role in supporting international efforts to advance the shared objectives of a peaceful and stable world – free of conflict, poverty and hunger,” said the foreign office.

  • US Secretary of State calls Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto

    US Secretary of State calls Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto

    United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday telephoned Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to congratulate him on becoming the country’s new foreign minister.

    Bilawal Bhutto and Antony Blinken tweeted about the telephonic contact between the two counterparts.

    The two also vowed to engage with mutual respect. 

    It is being reported that Blinken extended an invitation to Bilawal to visit the US this month.

    “An invitation was also extended by the Secretary of State for Pakistan’s participation in the Ministerial meeting on Global Food Security to be held in New York on 18 May 2022,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

    Building on the Pakistan-US cooperation in dealing with the Covid pandemic during the last two years, Secretary Blinken also invited Pakistan to the Second Global Covid Summit to be held virtually later this month.

  • BBZ follows ZA Bhutto, becomes Foreign Minister in 30s

    BBZ follows ZA Bhutto, becomes Foreign Minister in 30s

    Following in the footsteps of his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has taken oath as 30th Foreign Minister of Pakistan today (Wednesday).

    The 33-year-old minister joined Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif-led cabinet in an oath-taking ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadr, Islamabad.

    He was elected as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) in the general elections 2018. It is for the first time he will be serving as a member of the federal cabinet.

    Former PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto first took the charge of the Ministry of Foreign Ministry in 1963 at the age of 35 during the regime of General Ayub Khan.

    As foreign minister, Bhutto significantly transformed Pakistan’s hitherto pro-Western foreign policy. Moreover, he began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent of the United States (US) influence.

    Bhutto worked to establish stronger relations with China. Bhutto also signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement on March 2, 1963, which transferred 750 square kilometers of territory from Azad Kashmir to Chinese control. 

    Moreover, Bhutto advocated hardline and confrontational policies against India over the Kashmir conflict and other issues.

  • Will Bilawal Bhutto become the next foreign minister?

    Will Bilawal Bhutto become the next foreign minister?

    Amidst all the political crisis in the country, all eyes are on the National Assembly (NA) where the fate of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is going to be decided today. As everyone anticipates a decision today, people are speculating who will get the top positions in the new government.

    The positions which holds the most importance is that of prime minister and president, which is reportedly going to PMLN’s Shehbaz Sharif and JUIF’s Maulana Fazalur Rehman respectively, the question of who will be the foreign minister under the new government is also important.

    According to rumours, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is likely to be appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, the PPP leader while giving an interview to Independent Urdu said that the decision regarding the ministership will be taken by his party.

    Bilawal said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has made the foreign ministry and National Security Committee (NSC) controversial.

    The present Foreign Minister of Pakistan is Shah Mahmood Qureshi.