Pak surgicalstrike in IHK Indian propaganda: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday sent a chilling message to India, asking it to stop provocations, especially allegations that Pakistan was preparing for a surgical strike in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).

“Such provocative and negative statements, given under domestic political compulsions, can jeopardise regional peace,” he warned while talking to reporters here on his return from Ankara.

“This is not true and Pakistan’s condemns such allegations. We are a peaceful nation, but if anyone acts against us, we will react. Pakistan should not be pushed so far that we stop focusing on our western borders and shift our attention to our eastern ones. We have worked in very difficult circumstances to eradicate terrorism and we cannot afford terrorism to return or for it to resurface,” he added.

Condemning the continuing brutalities in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), the minister said it was time for the world capitals to take notice.

The minister also spoke about holding a parliamentary conference in London where representatives of different political parties in Pakistan would be included.

Qureshi urged the international community to ask the Indian leadership to refrain from spewing negative propaganda.

“Pakistan wants peace, stability, and progress of the region, which is not possible in a hostile environment,” he added.

“Our message to India is to act more responsibly and cease these provocative statements which they are using for domestic compulsions. Pakistan has responded in a mature manner and we refused to get provoked,” said the minister.

He said the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Turkey was very ‘successful’ and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be visiting Pakistan soon bringing with him a big group of investors.

One of the potential investments in which the Turkish investors have shown interest in is Pakistan’s five million housing project.

He said over two hours one-on-one meeting between Imran Khan and Erdogan had set the path for taking bilateral relations to a new high.

“Pakistan and Turkey are on the same page on all issues of strategic importance. The leadership of both the countries will collectively transform our friendship into a more robust partnership,” he said.

“Our aim is to enhance our economic ties with Turkey and this was high on the agenda of the prime minister during his meeting with the Business Council. He also assured Turkish businessmen that all impediments to investment in Pakistan will be removed,” the minister said.

“A high-level cooperative council will also be established between the two countries and meetings will be held in Turkey and Pakistan in the coming months to work out modalities of the council,” he said.

He said Afghanistan was also high on the agenda and it was decided that a trilateral summit will also be held in Istanbul between Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan which had got a positive response from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

“Striving for peace in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility and Pakistan cannot do it alone. We have reached out to our friends in the region who have appreciated Pakistan’s efforts while agreeing that the way forward is political reconciliation and not through military means,” the minister added.