Multan - Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned on Saturday that India could initiate an ‘adventure’ against Pakistan anytime.

“But our Armed Forces are fully prepared to thwart Indian designs,” he added while talking to the media.

Responding to a question, Qureshi claimed that sit-in caused serious harm to Kashmir cause and the attention was diverted from Kashmir. He said that Kashmiris were looking towards Pakistan even today. “It is my request to media not to move their eyes away from Kashmir,” he added.

He declared that the Prime Minister wanted to give three-year extension to the Army Chief, adding that the government granted extension while staying within the constitution. He said that the extension was given in view of situation in the region as Generak Qamar Javed Bajwa was playing a key role in the prevailing situation.

He claimed that contrary to the previous governments, the incumbent government welcomed court decision on the issue of extension and now written court verdict was awaited. He said that legislation was not an issue for just the government. He hoped that the opposition would play positive role in this regard. “The situation will get clear on Army Chief’s extension issue after the legislation,” he hoped.

Says detailed court verdict awaited for legislation on COAS service rules

He disclosed that he was going to Sri Lanka and Qatar and he would meet with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and Qatar. “Besides congratulating the new Lankan government, I’ll also present the case of Kashmir there,” he declared. He claimed that it was due to the policy of his government that Kashmir was discussed at international level after 1965. He said that Kashmir was not a mere piece of land rather it was an international issue.

He said that OIC and Human Rights Commission had recently presented their reviews on Kashmir and they supported Pakistan’s stance. He said that it had been 118 days since black law and curfew were enforced in Kashmir. He added that grave violations of human rights were being committed by India in Kashmir.

He said that Pakistan had serious concerns on verdict on Babri Masjid. He said that OIC was criticized for not playing active role but it presented its viewpoint during current week in a meeting on Kashmir. He claimed that the European Parliament, American Congress and Western media also supported Pakistan’s viewpoint on Kashmir and demanded India to lift curfew forthwith.

The FM was of the opinion that US-Taliban dialogue would resume after Trump’s Afghanistan visit . He warned that said that everyone knew about the situation. He said previous governments neglected Africa which had 54 countries and 1.2 billion population but current government recognized the importance of this region and held a two-day conference of African ambassadors in Islamabad. He revealed that Pakistan was preparing to engage Africa policy under which political and economic ties would be boosted. He said Africa was a big market and Pakistani goods would be exported to them. He revealed a meeting regarding economic diplomacy would take place in Nairobi in January and Advisor on Commerce Razak Dawood would attend it with his team. He said trade officers were appointed in 45 countries on merit to promote economic diplomacy.

Referring to CPEC, he said our opponents were afraid of this project and therefore they launched propaganda against it. He added CPEC was government’s top priority and it would prove a game-changer for the future of Pakistan. He said we were going to enter the second phase of CPEC.

He claimed the steps taken by the current  government for FATF in last 10 months were bigger than those taken by the previous governments in last 10 years. He said India used all tactics to get Pakistan blacklisted but it failed and Pakistan would soon come out of grey list.

Earlier at the covocation of Air University, he said a total of 16,000 students would get education at the university and it would offer courses on intelligence, defence and other disciplines besides science subjects. He hoped students from Sindh, Balochistan and KP would also benefit from the varsity at large. He said the success of extremist Hindu BJP in India had posed serious security threats to Pakistan and the region.

He said with the opening of Kartarpur corridor Pakistan disseminated a message to the world that Pakistan acted upon golden principles of tolerance and religious freedom. He said the government recently launched Kamyab Naujawan Programme to bring the youth into mainstream and the youngsters were given small loans to support them to stand on their own feet.