MULTAN-Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that construction of Kartarpura Corridor is a big diplomatic success of Pakistan.
“Despite reluctance, India convened its cabinet meeting and approved our project,” he informed while talking to the media here on Saturday. He said that Kartaurpura Corridor was a 70-year-long desire of the Sikh community as they had been demanding the corridor from all past governments.
He said that the Sikh community from across the world lauded this decision. He said that it was his strong desire that Indian foreign minister should attend the ceremony but Indian government sent two other ministers and “we welcomed it.” He said that peace in the region is a strong desire of Imran Khan and the PTI government.
He said that elections are being held in India and there seems no chance of any breakthrough in Pak-India relations even after new government. He said that Pakistan is an ideological state and the statement of Indian army chief does not make any difference to Pakistan.
The foreign minister termed remarks of Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat regarding turning Pakistan into a secular state as illogical.
“Ideology of Pakistan cannot be changed at any cost,” he declared.
He revealed that the government has decided to allocate separate budget for South Punjab in next budget which would be spent on this region.
He said that the government is taking all necessary steps for the creation of South Punjab province, adding that a sub secretariat is being established through an executive order to run affairs till creation of the province. He said that South Punjab province is not just desire of the PTI but also part of its manifesto.
He added that the PTI made South Punjab province part of its manifesto after keeping in view administrative issues taking place due to large population of Punjab province. He said that constitutional and legal amendments are needed for the creation of a separate province.
“Therefore all political parties should support us for the creation of South Punjab province,” he asserted. Qureshi declared that he would soon talk to Shehbaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari for this purpose.
He said that the PTI talked about across the board accountability for elimination of corruption from the country. He warned that no one would be given any relaxation and those who looted national wealth would be held answerable.
He said that the government inherited multiple problems and it needed some time to resolve these issues. “We needed to increase foreign investment besides boosting exports which would decrease our dependence on dollar,” he underscored.
