ISLAMABAD: While raising alarm over the volatile situation in the Middle East amid the Iran-Israel war, former foreign minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned that Tel Aviv’s expansionist regime and its ongoing war carry the potential to drag the entire world into World War III.
“First, they came for the Palestinians, but the world did not speak out because they weren’t Palestinian. Then they came for the Lebanese, but we did not speak out because we were not Lebanese. And then they came for the Yemenis, but we did not speak out because we’re not from Yemen,” Bilawal said while speaking during a National Assembly session on Monday.
“Now, they’ve come for Iran. If we do not speak out, there will be no one left when they come for us. The Israeli regime’s aggression across the region must be stopped,” he added.
The former FM’s remarks — a reference to Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem First They Came — come against the backdrop of an exponential increase in the Middle East turmoil due to Israel’s attack on Iran — a situation further exacerbated by the US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
The PPP chief has led Pakistan’s diplomatic offensive, which saw the high-level diplomatic delegation visiting the US and Europe, after last month’s armed conflict with India following New Delhi’s cross-border strikes after an attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam.
In retaliation, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos and downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
