ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to present Pakistan’s position and advocate for the country in world capitals following a recent military conflict with India will start with visits to the United States and Europe, a federal minister who is a member of the team said on Tuesday.
Sharif announced last week he was setting up the diplomatic team, which is headed by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is a former foreign minister.
“Our team … will visit Europe and US to represent our stance,” Climate Minister Dr. Musadik Malik, who is a member of the delegation, told a local Pakistani news channel, saying it would visit Washington, London, France and Brussels first and also Moscow at a later date.
“We are trying that with a small team, we visit the big areas of the world who are influencers in creating an opinion for the world and also forming policies. This team’s focus will be the US and Europe.”
Last week, state media reported that the team had been set up “to highlight India’s disinformation campaign and its attempts to destabilize regional peace” as well as put the spotlight on “Pakistan’s sincere efforts for peace and stability in the region.”
The United States played a major role in de-escalating the worst fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, who fired missiles and drones onto each other’s territory and fought with gunfire on their de facto border following weeks of tensions after a deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
Pakistan denies involvement.
