‘Previous govt neglected political aspect of NAP’

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will ensure the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP).

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Qureshi said, “It is with regret that I say there was no encouragement on the political side for the National Action Plan (NAP). There was no commitment in the previous government; however, the PTI government is committed to ensuring the implementation of NAP.

“We have invited the opposition before and invite them still to sit with us, to arrive at a consensus over NAP,” the foreign minister added. He said that Pakistan will have to stay alert in the wake of elections in India and Narendra Modi’s state of mind.

Qureshi further said he had personally contacted the leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. “The political leaders’ behaviour was not negative, but they hesitated to act promptly on such issues of national importance. I can understand why there was hesitation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan hoped that following the general elections in India, its new government would adopt meaningful dialogue with Pakistan on all longstanding issues.

The minister was addressing the seminar here on the Pakistan-India Relations and Resurgence of Freedom Struggle in Indian Held Kashmir at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).

Shah Mehmood said the world’s silence over the atrocities in the Indian Held Kashmir was remorseful. He said Pakistan always expressed serious intention about engaging India in bilateral dialogues but the Indian government always restrained from it. “We all know that they have general elections in near future and Pakistan bashing increases their vote bank,” he added.

The minister said Pakistan’s positive diplomacy resulted de-escalation between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. Qureshi stated that he tried to create a national consensus in the wake of the Pulwama incident but the political leadership of the country seemed reluctant.

The minister said the incumbent government was not oblivious to the deprivations of Balochistan and had taken great initiatives in health, education and infrastructure, including the Gwadar airport.

He reiterated that Pakistan being part of the Afghan peace process was an embodiment of Afghan-led and Afghan-owned government for the best interest of the region. He said the government had full clarity regarding the implementation of National Action Plan to its fullest for peace and stability of the country.

Qureshi said the country’s political-economic diplomacy was overcoming the hurdles and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in CPEC where special economic zones were being built for third parties. He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s government had found Pakistan in grey list of (Financial Action Task Force) FATF. “We are being pushed towards the black list of FATF but our government will do its best to avoid the situation,” he added.

The foreign minister paid tribute to the people of Indian Held Kashmir who were continuing their freedom struggle despite the raging Indian violence and atrocities.

Addressing the ceremony, Mishal Malik, the wife of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik, said human rights violations were a matter of routine in Held Kashmir by the Indian armed forces. She said global pressure was required to be exerted on India to put an end to the sufferings of innocent Kashmiri people.

She stressed that the release of captured Indian pilot Abhinandan was a powerful peace gesture by Prime Minister Imran Khan but India did not reciprocate the move and a golden opportunity for peace was lost.