'India started a war based on a lie and lost miserably': Bilawal reacts to Indian media's attempt to link Pakistan to terrorism

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday reacted to Indian media’s attempts to link Pakistan to terrorism, saying that the neighbouring country had “started a war based on a lie and lost miserably”, a reference to last year’s May conflict.

Bilawal made the remarks on the social media platform X, while reacting to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s interview with an Indian media channel.

In an interview with NDTV, Ibrahim — who was in India to attend the BRICS summit over the weekend — was asked if he considered Israel’s actions against Hamas terrorism.

“Yes, it is terrorism,” Ibrahim replied.

The host then asked if “by that token”, what “Pakistan has done against India and in Pahalgam” would be considered “terrorism”.

“I would not go to that extent. I know it is very sensitive to say that in India. I’m a close friend of Modi ji, and we engage with the Pakistanis,” the Malaysian prime minister said.

Asked why the Malaysian PM was “not as direct in criticising Pakistan for terrorism”, Ibrahim said: “Well, it has to be established.”

He continued: “I mean, none of my intelligence establishment … would come back and tell me, ‘Anwar, yes, there was state-sponsored terrorism’. Therefore, I, as the prime minister of Malaysia, would then refer to this fact.”

Reacting to the clip of the interview, Bilawal said on Monday: “Malaysian PM exposing Indian propaganda, in India on Indian TV. The truth is India started a war based on a lie and lost miserably.”

He said that India now stood “exposed internationally”.

“India must live up to its commitments made at the time of the ceasefire; to discuss all friction points with Pakistan. So we can together bring peace, prosperity and stability to our region,” he said.

In May 2025, a four-day conflict between Pakistan and India was sparked by an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.

After New Delhi launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7, Pakistan said it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat, later raising the tally to eight. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire.

In April, on the first anniversary of the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan had rejected a renewed Indian propaganda campaign linking it to the attack, deploring that the neighbouring country was focusing on “weaponising its false narrative” in the midst of a regional crisis sparked by the US-Israel war on Iran.