Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto has acknowledged the country’s tango with terror operatives, saying that Pakistan has a past. This follows the Defence Minister Khwaja Asif admitting Pakistan’s involvement in backing and funding terrorist groups.

Bhutto acknowledged Pakistan’s history with extremism, claiming the nation has suffered as a result and has since reformed.

In a conversation with Sky News’s Yalda Hakim on Thursday, Bhutto said, “As far as what the defence minister said, I don’t think it is a secret that Pakistan has a past… As a result, we have suffered, Pakistan has suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learned our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem…”

“As far as Pakistan’s history is concerned, it is history and it is not something that we are partaking in today. It is indeed an unfortunate part of our history,” Bhutto further said.

Bhutto, who addressed a rally in Mirpur Khas on Thursday, once again engaged in empty rhetoric, claiming that Pakistan wanted peace but was ready for war if India provoked them.

“Pakistan is a peaceful country, and Islam is a peaceful religion. We do not want war, but if someone attacks our Sindhu, then they should be ready for war. We don’t beat the drums of war, but if provoked, the roar of a united Pakistan will be deafening,” he said in the rally

A few days ago, in a video clip that went viral, Pakistan’s Defence Minister was in conversation with Sky News’s Yalda Hakim, when she asked him, “But you do admit, you do admit, sir, that Pakistan has had a long history of backing and supporting and training and funding these terrorist organisations?”

Khwaja Asif in his reply said, “We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades… and the West, including Britain…That was a mistake, and we suffered for that, and that is why you are saying this to me. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan’s track record was unimpeachable.”

The admission from Pakistan’s top echelon comes against the backdrop of the deadly Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which killed 26 people. The Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terror group with deep ties to Pakistan, orchestrated the attack.