LAHORE – Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday asked India not todelay the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and settle all differencesthrough bilateral dialogue.Addressing a press conference flanked by Punjab Governor Chaudhry MohammadSarwar here at the Governor House, he said despite tension with India inthe wake of Pulwama incident, Pakistan participated in the talks onKartarpur Corridor.Pakistan wanted to move forward and improve its relations with India, headded.
India, he said, should not to shy away from the Kartarpur Corridor talksscheduled for April 2 (Tuesday). Pakistan was more than willing to addressall the Indian reservations, he added.He said Pakistan had adopted a principled stance that the KartarpurCorridor should be opened for the Sikh community residing all over theworld. Pakistan desired to open more border crossings for pilgrims fromIndia, he added.
Qureshi said the new visa policy was part of the government’s efforts toattract foreign tourists to the country. The people from 50 countries wouldbe provided visa on arrival, while those from 172 countries would havee-visa facility. The government wanted to remove barriers and promotetourism, he added.
About the FATF sanctions, the minister said the country had been placed inthe grey list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during the PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. However, the PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was taking initiatives to avert thecountry being put in its black list. Being in FATF’s grey list caused aloss of $10 billion to the country while the cost of being included in theblack list would be even higher, he added.Regarding petroleum products price-hike, the minister said: “The common manis sensible enough and does not hold the Pakistan Threek-e-Insaf (PTI)government and Prime Minister Imran Khan responsible for it as well aseconomic degradation in the country.”
Pakistan, he said, had been facing 6.6 per cent economic deficit when thePTI government took over. Everybody knew that the claims of stability ofdollar, made by former finance minister Ishaq Dar, were cosmetic anduntenable. The PNL-N government did nothing to control the line losses ofWater and Power Development Authority and rectify the infrastructurefaults, he added.
The foreign minister said Finance Minister Asad Umar would succeed inmaking the economy stable soon. The country was on the verge of bankruptcywhen Prime Minister Imran Khan took over the office and now the nationaleconomy was recoverning due to timely financial assistance received fromthe friendly and brotherly countries, he added.
Qureshi said Asad Umar had managed to get concessions from theInternational Monetray Fund (IMF), which was putting up tough conditionsTo a question, the minister dispelled the impression that the 18thAmendment was being done away with. The Federal Government to had asked theprovinces to reconsider their financial needs, he added.
He clarified that with abolishing of the concurrent list under the 18thAmendment, all economic resources had been handed over to the provinces,leaving the Centre with almost no resources at its disposal.
The Prime Minister wanted the provinces to give viable financial resourcesto the Centre in the 7th National Finance Commission Award, he added.About PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen, he said he should continue to servethe nation, but in ‘his personal capacity’.
Qureshi advised Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilalwal Bhutto Zardarishould get rid of the corrupt elements in the party if he desired to revivehis party in Punjab. Yusuf Raza Gilani was rejected by the people of Multanfor his alleged corruption while his two sons and candidates had lost 2018general elections and 2019 by-polls, he added.
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Recalling his own close ties with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto while being in thePPP, Qureshi said Bilawal should not allow Gilani to sit on the stage andaddress the workers on the occasion of death anniversary of PPP founderShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Gilani along with many others was responsiblefor the fall of PPP in Punjab, he added.
With such corrupt people on his side, Bilawal should not dream of a trainmarch in Punjab like he had undertaken in Sindh, he said.
The foreign minister asked Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to shun prejudices andavoid doing politics on non-issues. The Benazir Income Support Programme(BISP) had a limited scope while Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Ehsas’programme was wider in scope covering more areas, he added.
He said Bilawal Bhutto might ask for another survey if he was not satisfiedbut should not oppose a programme for political gains.Qureshi said the victory of PTI candidate in the PP-218 Multan by-polls inPP-218 by-polls was a proof that the masses had rejected the politics ofself-interest by the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Boththe parties had launched a joint candidate to defeat the PTI in theby-polls, but they failed.
He said all the opposition parties had become politically and ideologicallybankrupt. Once at the daggers drawn, they had joined hands against the PTI,but they failed in their mission as the masses gave their verdict in favourof the PTI candidate.
He said the PTI had gained voters’ support despite negative propaganda bythe opposition parties.
The foreign minister also condoled the death of Sardar Fateh Buzdar,three-time Member Punjab Assembly (MPA) and father of Punjab Chief MinisterSardar Usman Buzdar.
In the beginning, Governor Punjab felicitated the foreign minister on thevictory in the Multan by-polls.
