At a breakfast hosted by former President Donald Trump, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), emphasized the importance of strengthening public ties between Pakistan and the United States, stressing that religion serves as a unifying force rather than a divisive one.
Speaking to the media after attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Bilawal highlighted the event as a significant platform for fostering interfaith harmony. He pointed out that US President Donald Trump delivered a speech during the gathering, where people from all around the world had come together.
Bilawal himself addressed the closing ceremony, where he focused on the power of faith to bring people together across different cultures and backgrounds.
Reflecting on his own personal faith journey, Bilawal shared, “Everybody has their own faith journey, and for me, and for many others, faith is deeply tied to loss. The more you lose, the stronger your faith becomes.” He spoke of the hardships his family endured, including the assassination of his grandfather, former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and the tragic deaths of his uncles, Shahnawaz and Mir Murtaza Bhutto.
He also recalled the devastating loss of his mother, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, just weeks before she was scheduled to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in 2008.
During his address, Bilawal stressed the importance of religion as a force of unity, saying, “One thing I want to tell you today, as a man of faith and a politician, is that religion is often manipulated to divide us. But the remarkable thing about faith, about God, about the Almighty, is that it’s not a force that divides us—it is a force that unites us. And never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
He also reflected on the universal message of Jesus Christ, pointing out that his teachings resonate in both Christianity and Islam. Bilawal stated, “Jesus doesn’t just belong to Christians. I learned about Jesus from my mother, who taught me about Jesus as he is portrayed in the Holy Quran and in Muslim teachings. Every single Muslim, no matter what you are told, believes in Jesus.”
During his visit to the US, Bilawal also met with members of Congress. However, as he is no longer serving as the foreign minister, these meetings were held in a personal capacity.
The National Prayer Breakfast, hosted by newly-elected President Donald Trump, was attended by prominent figures from around the world, including Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who received an invitation to the event. The gathering, which took place at 7 a.m. US time in Washington, lasted nearly seven hours until 2 p.m.
Bilawal arrived in the US on Monday to attend the event. Several National Prayer and Faith ceremonies were held in the US that week, with participation from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance. However, this was Bilawal’s first time attending an event hosted by Trump.
Expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to attend, Bilawal said, “I’m grateful to the National Prayer Breakfast, or rather, the International Prayer Breakfast, for providing us the chance to unite around our shared belief in Jesus.”
