Pakistan’s obsession of copying India was witnessed again recently after Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called for ‘Made in Pakistan’ defence products to challenge the neighbouring’s country in the defence sector.
Bilawal, who is the chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was reportedly addressing a gathering in Karachi, where he said countries across the world, particularly the Middle East, want to diversify their defence requirements.ย
He said Pakistan is surely ready for this, while claiming that there is a demand in defence market for ‘Made in Pakistan’ equipment. An undated video of Bilawal’s address has also gone viral on social media, where he could be seen promising to build a defence industrial hub in Karachi.ย ย
“The demand in the market is not about ‘Made in India’ but for ‘Made in Pakistan’. And if God wants, the Karachi’s defence and security zone… we will surely do each and everything possible to secure ourselves. We will do it at all cost,” the former Pakistan minister said in the viral video.ย
“The entire Middle East wants to diversify its defence needs. Even Europeans want to do that. They don’t want to depend on just one nation. We will surely build the ‘Made in Pakistan’ defence products in Karachi. This will hugely benefit Pakistan,” he added.ย
However, Bilawal got trolled for his ‘Made in Pakistan’ defence products call, with many users on X (previously Twitter) highlighting the PPP chairperson about the neighbouring country’s struggling economy. Users called Pakistan a ‘failed state’ and noted that Islamabad continues to depend on bailouts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to Pakistan’s Bureau of Statistics, inflation is at its highest there. The data provided by it showed that the consumer price index has increased to 11.7 per cent in Pakistan. This, though, is largely driven by factors associated with conflict between the United States (US) and Iran in the Middle East.
Despite this, Pakistan has continued to support terror and is spending millions of dollars into lobbying firms in the US to “camouflage” its record on terrorism and human rights violation. “Despite being in dire economic straits and surviving on doles from Gulf donors, the IMF, and the World Bank, Pakistan has chosen to spend significantly on propaganda to open doors for its diplomats in the United States,” former diplomat Mahesh Sachdev told news agency ANI.
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