Asserts Pakistan shouldn’t have become a party against Iran
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Monday said the way Nawaz Sharif was treated in Saudi Arabia was unfortunate for all, insisting that Pakistan should not have become a party against Iran.
Talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court, Imran Khan claimed that nowhere in the world was a criminal head of the state. “The Supreme Court has called the PanamaLeaks investigation a criminal case. Despite being suspect in a criminal case, Nawaz Sharif is still holding the office,” he asserted.
Imran lamented that criminal investigation was underway against a person and he went to Saudi Arabia as the prime minister of Pakistan, saying that nowhere in the world it happened that a criminal was the head of the government.
Imran said that it was obvious that Pakistan had no foreign policy and Nawaz Sharif was acting like a foreign minister, preferring his own interests over Pakistan’s. “Pakistan’s foreign policy is a disaster,” he alleged.
He ridiculed that Nawaz had a long net practice yet was treated as the twelfth man and not given the opportunity to deliver a speech at the (Riyadh) conference.
The PTI chairman said that the way Nawaz Sharif was treated at the Islamic Conference, being the prime minister of the only nuclear Muslim state of 200 million people, was unfortunate for all. He added that when US President Donald Trump talked about isolating Iran, Nawaz remained silent.
The PTI chief said there was a consensus among all in Pakistan that there was neither a foreign policy nor a foreign minister here. He added that Pakistan did not even get a mention as a frontline state fighting the war against terror during the course of Riyadh moot. He charged that no voice was raised by Pakistan's prime minister on the atrocities in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) by the Indian forces, wherein even schoolgirls had risen for freedom.
Regarding the alliance of Islamic countries, he said that Iran should have been part of this alliance, as the role of Pakistan should have been to bridge the differences between the Muslim countries, not to widen them.
“Isolating Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah is not in the interest of the Muslim world or of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif lost a big opportunity and the Pakistani people are extremely disappointed. If he didn't take a stand on what the Pakistani nation wants, then why he even bothered going there,” he asked. “The government must have told Saudi Arabia that we will not become part of one side, rather we will be mediators. We should play the role of bringing the Muslim nations together instead of becoming a party on the issue of Iran,” he emphasised.
Imran pointed out that the army chief had said that General Raheel Sharif would unite the Islamic countries. “We don't want the Muslim world divided with more trouble; from Somalia to Afghanistan the Muslim world is burning. Pakistan should be the one putting out the fires, not supporting other people's wars.” On actions taken against some of the social media activists, Imran stated that the government could not muzzle the voices and opinions of ordinary Pakistanis for speaking against the governance of the Nawaz government. He warned to take to streets if justice was not delivered regarding the PanamaLeaks case. Imran said that before the next general election, they would try their best to get through the electoral reforms and that the 2018 polls should be held under neutral umpires. In this context, he said that they would reach out to all political parties for a united position on the electoral system.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan congratulated Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on his re-election. In his Twitter message, Imran wrote, “Congratulations to President Rouhani on his re-election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran by an overwhelming majority.”