Islamabad: Urging both the federal government and the military establishment to cease their ongoing confrontation against political opponents and regional neighbours, former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto has urged them to focus on economic recovery and public relief.
Strongly criticising Pakistan’s civil-military “hybrid” regime, he said the authorities should stop fighting domestic rivals, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whilst simultaneously sustaining friction with regional neighbours India and Afghanistan.
The regime cannot continue expending vital national energy on multiple adversarial fronts whilst ordinary citizens bear the brunt of compounding distress, he said.
“Stop fighting PTI, Maulana Fazl, India and Afghanistan,” Bhutto said.
The confrontational policies pursued under the military establishment and army chief Asim Munir requires urgent re-evaluation in favour of political reconciliation, he said, questioning the logic behind maintaining an aggressive, combative stance across both domestic political battlegrounds and external borders at a time when the nation is engulfed by a severe economic crisis.
“When will Pakistan focus on economic development?” he asked. “Public welfare must be the government’s top priority.”
Prolonging hostility against several adversaries merely distracts the federal government and the military leadership from tackling profound financial distress, Bhutto said, challenging the sustainability of Munir’s confrontational strategy during a severe national downturn.
He took aim at the federal government and the military establishment over what he characterised as a failure to prioritise public relief.
“Pakistan government and the military establishment cannot keep fighting political opponents and neighbours while the public suffers,” he said, as reported by News18.
The continuous friction on domestic and international fronts directly deepens the suffering of ordinary people who urgently require economic stability and state assistance rather than political warfare, Bhutto said.
He underscored that public welfare must be the government’s top priority while emphasising the plight of ordinary citizens,