Former Indian Foreign Minister Qureshi has responded negatively to allegations in India that link Pakistan with terrorism.
After the departure of Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mehmood Qureshi strongly condemned Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s statement, saying that it was against diplomatic etiquette to ridicule the Pakistani foreign minister.
He told reporters in Multan, “Although I disagree with Bilawal, I am talking about the foreign minister of Pakistan.” As the Indian foreign minister put it, “Bilawal Bhutto went there as the Indian foreign minister’s guest, but he mocked the Pakistani foreign minister.”
According to Qureshi, he violated diplomatic norms by associating Pakistan with terrorism.
What right did you have to make the connection between Pakistan and terrorism, he said, and to portray yourself as a victim.
There was no basis for it, he said; this may be his personal opinion, but it is not; not only Pakistan but also Kashmiris denounced the comments of the Indian foreign minister.
“Bilawal went there because of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), Iran also participated for the first time,” he said. “There is Hindutva thinking there, so it is useless to go there,” one person said before Bilawal left for India. “The other thought was that we are members and should go there for better relations; we went there.”
“Our experienced diplomats should have given Bilawal advice on what should his reaction be if they would raise bilateral issues on the platform of SCO,” he continued.
He criticised the Indian FM, saying, “Mr Jaishankar, you are hiding your eyes from the facts,” and pointing out that Pakistan has lost over 80,000 lives and billions of dollars due to terrorism.
“Before pointing fingers at Pakistan, you have to look within yourself; you have to look at your neck,” he continued.
The situation in occupied Kashmir, he added, is worse. He further noted that this “unconstitutional and illegal move” should be considered in the perspective of August 5, 2020, while analysing the situation in occupied Kashmir.
“The world is seeing the true face of India; we have exposed India before,” Qureshi stated, before wondering what Kulbhushan Yadav was doing in Balochistan.
If he was a serving officer caught spying and instigating terrorism in Pakistan, he could have asked if he was on a goodwill tour there.
This world is aware of the problem they are trying to solve; India is hiding behind it, he remarked.
If the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to “sacrifice” Shahbaz Sharif, the PTI leader wonders what they can do about it politically.
“Respect the decision of the court and conduct the election and do not sacrifice before Eidul Adha,” he said.
He echoed the allegations of corruption with the distribution of 20 billion rupees worth of flour and noted that the government did not have 20 billion rupees to spend on holding elections.
After praising Allah as almighty, he praised the Constitution but lamented that it was being disregarded and ridiculed.
“If the constitution is implemented, no crisis can arise; Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) neither looks at the Constitution nor traditions for their purposes,” he said.
He went on to say that PDM is not making any decisions because they are trying to “run away” from the election.
After mentioning that “Maulana Fazlur Rahman was against the negotiations from the first day and despite Bilawal’s efforts, he was not willing to negotiate,” he elaborated.
“Similarly, there is a clear division in the PML-N regarding negotiations; Ishaq Dar has the clear confidence of Nawaz Sharif, while the behavior of Khawaja Asif and other ministers is front and center before the nation.”
The PTI leader claimed that an agreement had been reached with the PDM to hold elections in the country using a caretaker government for just one day.
On the other hand, “when Nawaz Sharif said we do not accept the 3-2 decision,” he continued, “then we have separated from the negotiations.”
He also mentioned that a friendly atmosphere is created in order to facilitate negotiations. He further mentioned that 33 PTI employees had been detained prior to the second sit-in.
He also claimed to have discussed this with the finance and interior ministers.
Then, “on the same night, the residence of Parvaiz Elahi was attacked; a new trial was made against Murad Saeed; and the events surrounding [Ali Amin] Gandapur have been played out for all to see,” he continued.
When asked about the charges against Elahi, Qureshi claimed that the federal government does not care that his home was attacked.
He insisted that accountability be established despite the fact that the caretaker chief minister of Punjab, the Punjab IG, the Chief Secretary, and other high officials were all out of the country.
He stated that by half past five people were marching peacefully across Pakistan in support of the chief justice, as per Imran Khan’s demand.
Imran said that he would be heading the protest in Lahore and that similar events will be place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
He added that the gathering in Islamabad went forward under Section 144 despite the court’s approval.
“We will go to court against him for contempt; people everywhere in South Punjab, including Multan, will do their part to show solidarity with the court and judges,” he continued.
