Qureshi for exemplary punishment for Sialkot tragedy accused

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday strongly condemned the Sialkot incident and said a specific lobby was exploiting the issue.

He was talking to journalists after inaugurating a three-day Urs of Hazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam here. Qureshi, who is also Sajjada Nasheen of the shrine, said that whenever any incident occurred in Pakistan, a certain section tried to defame the country by presenting its negative picture. The minister said that Pakistan was a responsible country. It was fully aware of its responsibilities in the region and the majority of the people living here were moderate.

He said: “I have called the Sri Lankan foreign minister and sent him a message of Prime Minister Imran Khan that the accused involved in the Sialkot incident would be awarded exemplary punishment”. Later, during the first session of the Urs, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the celebrations of the Urs had been made limited last year due to corona. However, the Urs ceremony was organised this year, he added.