MULTAN-Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has announced that the PTI will contact other political parties including the PPP for the creation of South Punjab province.
Talking to the media here after offering Eid prayers, he informed that the PTI needs two thirds majority for the creation of South Punjab province. “We hope that the PPP will support us on this issue,” he expressed his optimism. He said that the PPP got a five year term but they did not have two thirds majority and therefore they could not create the province.
He said that the PTI had made South Punjab province part of its manifesto and Imran Khan mentioned it in his first address to the nation.
He said that the PTI would create a consensus with other political parties for creation of the province.
He claimed that the PML-N pressed the PPP to withdraw the name of Aitaza Ahsan for presidential run.
“If it happens, it will be tantamount to burying ideological politics,” he pointed out.
He claimed that the PTI candidate for President’s office Arif Alvi would win the election.
He said that Aitazaz Ahsan is a renowned lawyer and ideological worker of the PPP and the party must have put his name forward after thorough consultation. He said that Aitazaz played a laudable role as opposition leader in senate and withdrawal of his name would deliver a severe blow to ideological politics.
He said that Dr Arif Alvi belongs to middle class and is a clean person.
“Therefore we request members of assemblies from all four provinces to vote for him,” he asserted. He said that expatriate Pakistanis are patriot Pakistanis and it was a long standing demand to give them right to vote.
He said that the public sector workers, who were working somewhere else instead of their actual place of appointment due to political interference in the system, had started returning to their place of deployment.
He added that this process had begun from South Punjab and he was happy that the process of change has started from this region.
He said that Punjab Chief Minister Sadar Usman Buzdar has told the government officials in his first talk that his orders should not be accepted if against the law. He said that it is real change that Imran Khan talked about.
He pointed out that the water issue has become serious as negligence was committed by previous regimes during the last four decades.
“Neither was taken any initiative to resolve water issue, nor we have dams for water storage,” he pointed out.
He said that Imran Khan had mentioned Bhasha Dam in his first speech and this dam would be constructed with national consensus.
He said that American foreign minister would soon come down to Pakistan and important issues including Kashmir would be discussed with him.
He said that the entire world is aware of the gravity of Kashmir issue and now even Indian intellectuals have started asking the Indian government to review its policy on Kashmir.
He condemned the proposed sacrilegious caricature contest in Holland and said that this act not only hurt the sentiments of Muslims across the world but also encouraged extremism.
He said that as foreign minister his first order was to summon Dutch envoy to foreign office and make him aware of nation’s sentiments and concern.
He said that the Prime Minister Imran Khan, cabinet and he himself condemned the act of extremists.
He declared that he would raise this issue at all platforms and condemn it. He hoped that the Muslim ummah would chalk out a joint line of action on this issue. He said that the OIC should raise voice on it too.
Meanwhile, talking to the media, he said that he would soon present Pakistan’s viewpoint at UNO on sacrilegious caricatures, Kulbhushan and Kashmir.
“We have ample evidence against Kulbhushan and we would present them in the international court,” he pledged, adding that the OIC platform should also be used for for this purpose.
He said that the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan rendered tremendous sacrifices in war against terror and international community should respect our sacrifices. He declared that he would make the world aware of losses faced by Pakistan in war against terror.
He said that Dr Aafiya Siddiqui was nation’s daughter and he would take steps for bringing her back. He said that he could feel the agony her family was faced with, adding that he had made efforts during his previous term as foreign minister to bring her back.
He said that although there were legal hindrances in his way, yet he would make efforts to bring her back.