Pakistan making efforts for uniting Muslim states: Qureshi

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan was always making efforts for uniting Muslim countries.

Talking to media Friday, he said not only Pakistan but all the Muslim countries should play their role in forging unity among Ummah. He said Pakistan has cordial relations with Turkey, Malaysia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He slammed India for introducing discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Bill, even Bangladesh rejected the bill, which is not only against the human rights but was unethical and illegal. India has imposed military lockdown in Held Kashmir for the last 131 days and Pakistan was exposing Indian aggression around the world, he added. Qureshi said Pakistan was playing its role for long-lasting peace in Afghanistan and it would continue its efforts in this connection. He said he had held meeting with Zalmay Khalilzad in Islamabad regarding Afghan peace process. He said the government has opened Torkham Border round-the-clock on Afghanistan’s demand. He said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was just bragging that the government was packing up in a month. Earlier, the Maulana claimed that prime minister was going to resign, but his claims proved false, he added. To a query about setting up of South Punjab Secretariat, he said he endorses Jahangir Tareen’s claim that secretariat would be established soon. Multan is the most suitable place for South Punjab Secretariat keeping in view the merit and facts based on statistics, he further added.

Qureshi said the Treasury members and the Opposition should show a positive attitude towards the appointment of chief election commissioner and the parliament committee was working on it. He was hopeful on developing consensus on the appointment of CEC. He said the government was waiting for detailed court judgment on extension in COAS tenure. The government may approach Opposition after assessing the detailed court verdict. He said the CPEC was a game changer in the region, adding all rumours about halting CPEC would prove baseless. He said Switzerland would share Pakistanis accounts with the government. However, the government would investigate sources of income of account holders. To a query about Punjab Institute of Cardiology incident, he said no culprit would be spared whether he is a nephew of the premier.