Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Tuesday that talks with India could only take place if Kashmir’s special status was restored.

“We are ready to talk for peace,” he said.

“If there is any obstacle to peace it is the Modi government.”

Addressing a public rally in Bagh, Azad Kashmir, Bilawal said he had gone to the SCO meeting in India because he did not want to give India an ‘open pitch’.

“We wanted to present our case infront of the people of India, and their foreign minister and the foreign ministers of the world,” he said.

He added that he wanted to follow the rules of the meeting and not engage in bilateral discussions on the platform but important things needed to be said on Indian ground and particularly infront of the Indian media.

“We wanted to tell Indian people that we are not all terrorists, we want peace,” he said.

“The terrorists are those who attacked the Samjhota Express, and those who caused terror in Gujarat,” he said. He added that terror organisations in India were not only targeting Muslims but had also made life difficult for Dalits and Christians.

He added that if tourism was to be promoted in Occupied Kashmir, it should be the Kashmiri people who should benefit instead of Delhi. He added that tourism could not be promoted in a heavily militarised environment when thousands of Kashmiris were in prison.

“If you want tourism, hold a referendum,” he said.

“As long as it is considered internationally disputed territory, Kashmiri people should not be fooled under the garb of tourism,” he said.