Multan - Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi claimed on Friday there was no forward block in the PTI and all rumours would die down soon.

“Even the disgruntled members have dispelled reports regarding any forward block. We’ll fulfil all justified demands of members of assembly and the government will accomplish its term,” he declared while talking to the media here at the residence of PTI leader Rao Mohsin.

He claimed that the government was faced with mafia, adding that the Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to bring reforms in different departments but opportunists stood in his way.

“The Punjab government has said that the wheat flour crisis is artificial and some profiteers are creating this crisis. We’ll overcome it very soon,” he claimed.

He said that the government has set up sale points to defeat hoarders but there no one turned up to purchase wheat flour from these points. He said that the government was not afraid of criticism and the opponents subjected government to harsh criticism.

He said that the law and order situation had improved in Pakistan. He declared recent UK travel advisory regarding Pakistan a positive development, saying it would leave very positive impacts on tourism in Pakistan.

He said that it was a good omen that all countries except India appreciated the points he presented in FATF meeting. “The things that could not be done during last 10 years have been done in 10 months,” he added.

He said that India did not want Pakistan to come out of the grey list, rather it wanted to push Pakistan into the blacklist. He hoped that the participants of upcoming Paris meeting in February would consider merit and no politics would be done.

He claimed that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Davos meeting remained highly successful and he held very good meetings. He added that the foreign media gave full coverage to Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Referring to Kashmir, he said that occupied Kashmir was under curfew for the last 176 days. He added that Indian people were annoyed in the acts of Indian government. He claimed that the people of India rejected RSS mindset. He said that Indian government was under intense pressure, adding that Kashmiris and students were protesting. He said that Pakistan’s viewpoint got strong support during UN Security council meeting. He was of the opinion that the recent cover page of Economist was an indication that India was getting unveiled before the world. “The Security Council meetings have proved that Kashmir is an international issue and it needs to be addressed in light of resolutions of UNO,” he asserted. He said that the Kashmir issue got highlighted in the world after August 5 and this year strong solidarity would be exhibited by Pakistanis with Kashmiris on February 2.

He declared his Iran, Saudi Arabia and US visit successful. He said that Pakistan was trying to deescalate the situation between USA and Iran. He added that Pakistan was striving to clear misunderstandings between Iran and Saudi Arabia. He claimed that a visible decrease took place in tension between Iran and USA. “We’ve made it clear to both the countries that the region cannot afford another war,” he added.

He claimed that the USA wanted that the issues between India and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue. He added that the USA had once against made an attempt to mediate between India and Pakistan but India was not ready to accept their mediation.

He claimed that the government took serious steps to control price hike. “It is because of our initiatives that the rupee has gained stability while the increase in dollar rate has stopped. Our exports and production have also increased,” he added. He said that the government knew about the problems being faced by the citizens and therefore Utility Stores were given Rs. 7 billion subsidy.

He reiterated that corruption seriously harmed the country and economy, adding that capital was sent abroad through illegal investments during previous regimes as a result of which the economy collapsed. He claimed that no corruption case against current government surfaced so far. He said that the government had zero tolerance for corruption and uprooting it was the first priority.

To a question, he said that the government was aware of the importance of media. “We know media is an important pillar of democracy. We’re disseminating our message to the masses through media and our relation with media will last long,” he declared.