Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has criticized PTI for trying to make Pakistan’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in India controversial.
Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister called out its political rival for downplaying the conduct of interstate relations during Pakistan’s participation in the SCO moot. He also lashed out at PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan for putting at risk Pakistan’s foreign policy interests.
Read more: Nothing was achieved by you in India – Rajdeep Sardesai to FM Bilawal
“It is deeply troubling how the PTI tried to generate controversy around Pakistan’s participation in the SCO meeting in India. It shouldn’t be surprising though as Imran Niazi has had no qualms about imperiling the country’s vital foreign policy interests in the past too. This is what they did when they were in power. For the PTI, everything including the conduct of interstate relations is a plaything,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
It is deeply troubling how the PTI tried to generate a controversy around Pakistan's participation in the SCO's meeting in India. It shouldn't be surprising though as Imran Niazi has had no qualms about imperiling the country's vital foreign policy interests in the past too. This…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 6, 2023
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto recently attended the two-day SCO meeting in Goa, India. This was the first time in 12 years that a Pakistani foreign minister visited India. Therefore Bilawal Bhutto stole all the limelight when he attended the two-day moot in the coastal city, as all the Indian media was focused on him.
The focus on Bilawal Bhutto was even more heightened due to India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr Jaishankar’s alleged cold shoulder to Bilawal Bhutto when he did not extend a handshake towards him. Dr Jaishankar even made some uncalled-for remarks and he was slammed for his behavior towards the Pakistani delegation.
Furthermore, the young foreign minister also became the target of much criticism in Pakistan. PTI leaders criticized Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for visiting India while accusing him of ignoring the Modi government’s atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). They also accused him of appeasing the US by visiting India, since both countries share strong ties.
Read more: PTI leaders slam FM Bilawal for visiting India