Bilawal Bhutto being used as a pawn against India? New, unexpected claims stir post-Pahalgam pot even as war fog settles

India-Pakistan war: Even as the fog of the post-Pahalgam war slowly settles on both sides of the border, a series of new, unexpected allegations have emerged to keep the India-Pakistan cauldron bubbling. Shafi Burfat, the Chairman of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), has issued a sharply critical statement saying that Pakistan’s military elite is exploiting Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), to advance its geopolitical motives, news agency ANI reported on May 20.

The “Punjabi army and establishment” is using Bhutto to spearhead an anti-India campaign on the world stage, Burfat alleged.

In a message shared on X, Burfat said Bilawal is being lured with aspirations of power, including the possibility of attaining the Prime Minister’s office, in exchange for leading international diplomatic efforts against India.

Despite these offers, Burfat cautioned that such cooperation is short-lived, claiming that Bilawal is likely to meet the same tragic end as his grandfather, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and his mother, Benazir Bhutto—both of whom died under suspicious and controversial conditions.

He characterised this as a recurring betrayal rooted in a long-standing pattern by the Punjab-dominated military elite.

Burfat further accused the PPP of consistently failing to uphold the true interests of Sindh or its people. According to him, the party functions primarily as a proxy for Punjab, prioritising the agenda of feudal elites rather than fighting for Sindhi autonomy or rights.He dismissed Bilawal as “naive, power-obsessed, and lacking seriousness,” accusing him of echoing misleading propaganda about India in alignment with the Pakistani establishment.Additionally, Burfat highlighted the deep-rooted historical, spiritual, and cultural links that connect Sindh to India, outright rejecting the portrayal of India as a foe. He referred to India as a “spiritual and cultural sister” of Sindh, emphasising that throughout history, Sindhis have regarded India as a friendly and cooperative neighbor.

Going a step further, the JSMM leader charged Pakistan’s military with serving as a destabilising force in the region, manipulated by foreign states such as China and Turkey for targeting India. He cited alleged instances of Pakistani involvement in violence, including acts in regions like Pahalgam, and strongly condemned what he described as the military’s engagement in terrorism.

Burfat also made it clear that Bilawal’s actions on the global platform do not mirror the beliefs or desires of the Sindhi population. He urged world leaders, particularly those in India, to acknowledge this disparity and to understand that Sindhis do not endorse the anti-India rhetoric being disseminated by Pakistan’s military and political elite.

In his concluding remarks, Burfat reiterated a grim caution to Bilawal, asserting that the military establishment is using him as a pawn, just as it did with other members of the Bhutto family, who were ultimately eliminated. He condemned what he termed a “vicious and deceptive tradition” upheld by Pakistan’s ruling forces.

“We Sindhis view India as our ally and neighbour. If the Punjabi-controlled establishment perceives India as a foe, that is their perspective—not ours,” the news agency quoted Burfat as saying.