Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has attributed the surge in terrorism in the region to the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, citing the fallout as a major contributor to Pakistan’s internal security challenges.
During a visit to Washington, the Pakistan People’s Party chairman said his country continues to grapple with the consequences of the US exit, including the proliferation of American-made weapons left behind in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan has been harmed by the manner in which the United States exited Afghanistan,” Bhutto Zardari said, according to a report by The Economic Times on Tuesday.
In remarks that indirectly criticised both Washington and regional dynamics, the former minister stressed the need for a renewed international strategy. “We talk about terror, we talk about Afghanistan, we talk about other things. That’s what we’ve spent the last couple of decades of this relationship discussing,” he said.
Bhutto Zardari called for enhanced regional and international cooperation to confront the lingering threat of terrorism. “We need more cooperation, regional and international, on what we are going to do now, post-Kabul, to deal with the remnants of terrorism that are left over,” he stated.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban of distributing American weapons to extremist groups, a charge the Taliban denies. His comments come as Pakistan and the Taliban-led Afghan government appear to be strengthening diplomatic ties, despite ongoing security concerns.
