India wants Pakistan blacklisted by FATF: Qureshi

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday rejected the opposition’s claim about slowdown of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, saying that the two countries were moving towards the second phase of the mega project.

Talking to the media at the airport before flying to Islamabad, he said Pakistan and China were satisfied over the progress on CPEC projects. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was leaving for China on a three-day official visit during which he would hold meetings with the Chinese president and his counterpart as well as heads of different companies interested in investment in Pakistan. Qureshi said Chinese president was also paying a visit to India within next few days, adding that China and Pakistan wanted to discuss different issues before the visit. He said the two friendly countries enjoyed deep-rooted relations and had unprecedented association.

Replying to a question, the minister said India wished to blacklist Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), adding that Pakistan had presented its point of view before the Asia Pacific Group about the measures taken by the government in this connection. The foreign minister noted that India was not in a position to allow anyone to visit Indian-held Kashmir because of the lockdown imposed by the Indian government for the last 62 days.

He said US Senator Chris Van Hollen was denied visit to IHK; however, Pakistan facilitated him during his visit to different parts of Pakistan including Azad Kashmir. He said the US senator wrote a letter to US President Donald Trump for his attention towards the ongoing situation in IHK. He said Pakistan would welcome world observers who want to visit Azad Kashmir to compare the situation in IHK and Azad Kashmir.

To another question, Qureshi said the international human rights bodies had now started criticising rights violations by India in the held valley. He said the Indian judiciary and media were under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government; however, the Congress and other opposition parties are opposing the Narendra Modi government stance on the Kashmir issue. Responding to a question, the foreign minister said Iran and Saudi Arabia were brotherly countries of Pakistan, adding that "we want to resolve misunderstandings between the two countries" because the region could not afford any conflict. He said protest is a right of any political party, but the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) should consider the ongoing situation as the Kashmir issue is being focused by the world. He said October 27 is observed as a black day by Kashmiris and Pakistanis as India had occupied the valley on this date. The JUI-Hind had supported the BJP government on Aug 5 action in which the special status of Kashmir was stripped off.

Earlier, thousands of devotees endorsed a unanimous resolution asking India to lift curfew in Indian-held Kashmir. Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya shrine caretaker Shah Mehmood Qureshi presented the resolution on the concluding session of the three-day 780th Urs of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya.

When Qureshi presented the resolution, thousands of devotees stood up and raised both hands, endorsing the resolution. "We demand that India lift curfew without any delay and stop targeting innocent Kashmiris with pellet guns", the resolution said.