pakistan 
Bilawal Answers Bajwa
Ex-army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa described the defeat of East Pakistan as a “political” failure exactly a week prior, but foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari insisted on Wednesday that the Dhaka disaster in 1971 was actually a “military failure” that had created a number of difficulties for the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-led PPP.
The foreign minister made this statement at a gathering held in Nishtar Park to commemorate the party’s 55th anniversary of its founding as part of a national holiday.
Bhutto’s Achievements
The PPP chairman spoke at the event, going over his party’s past and outlining its founder’s accomplishments. When Dhaka fell in 1971, his grandpa took on the challenge of bringing the “disintegrated country” back together and “regaining the lost splendour,” as he put it.
“The masses were broken and had lost all hope when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over the administration,” he remarked. “However, he rebuilt the country, regained public confidence, and eventually repatriated our 90,000 soldiers who had been taken prisoner of war as a result of military failure. A total of 90 000 of the soldiers were reunited with their loved ones. And all of that was made possible by the politics of inclusion, togetherness, and hope.”
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What Did Bajwa Say?
Former army leader retired Gen. Qamar Bajwa had made the following statement last week when speaking at a Defense and Martyrs Ceremony at the General Headquarters in an effort to “correct the record.” The loss of East Pakistan was first and foremost a political disaster rather than a military one. Only 34,000 of the soldiers were active combatants; the rest were from other government departments.
He claimed that even though they were up against 250,000 soldiers from the Indian army and 200,000 trained Mukti Bahini warriors, those 34,000 people fought bravely and made hitherto unheard-of sacrifices.
Undermine Democracy
The foreign minister spoke for more over an hour, recalling how his party had “sacrificed” two elected prime leaders in the past. He claimed that in an effort to undermine democracy and strengthen the “puppet government,” even their family members were killed.
The PPP leader poked fun at the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), claiming that, in contrast to Imran Khan’s assertion, the PTI would never resign from the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly since it had a history of making “U-turns” and that too for special interests.
“You have my word! They will never leave the KP and Punjab assemblies, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari reaffirmed. They have a track record of deceit. They submitted their resignations to the National Assembly, and after the Speaker of the National Assembly accepted them, they went to court
