Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. PHOTO: AFP
Speaking to media in Multan on Sunday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for making the decision to nominate Tanvir without consultation.
He pointed out that the Shehbaz Sharif-led party did not even consult its coalition partners before making the announcements as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had also expressed reservations over the nomination.
“If their own coalition partners are not satisfied then it is very likely that other political parties and the ruling party may also have concerns,” the foreign minister said.
The PTI leadership had sought a meeting with the NA speaker to discuss the matter, he added.
On May 2, PML-M President Shehbaz stepped down as PAC chairman while his party said in a statement that the former Punjab chief minister "was never keen to become PAC chairman and only accepted the position on the insistence of joint opposition and parliamentary advisory group".
Guessing game begins as Shehbaz quits PAC chair
Taking a jibe at the internal reshuffling in the PML-N, the seasoned politician wondered if the party believed Shehbaz to be unable to lead it due to health issues then how could the party president lead the opposition benches in the National Assembly.
When Qureshi was asked whether he thought Shehbaz would return from London, to which he replied that only the PML-N can answer whether the leader of the opposition in NA will come back and when.
The foreign minister dismissed rumours of a meeting with PM Imran and Jahangir Khan Tareen where the premier had reportedly asked the two senior party leaders to "diffuse tension". He also denied reports suggesting tension with coalition partners in Punjab – the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).
PTI govt drops its first petrol bomb
When asked about the late-night notification on petrol price, Qureshi said an increase in price was proposed to the federal cabinet in past week but the Imran Khan-led cabinet had forwarded the matter to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) as it was a financial decision.
The committee deliberated over it and recommended to increase the rate due to what he believed was a hike in the international petroleum market.
Responding to the PML-N criticism of the incumbent government giving in to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands, the foreign minister walked down memory lane. “Right after assuming power in 2013, PML-N’s finance minister Ishaq Dar had contacted the IMF for a bailout package. The PPP had also sought a bailout after making the government in 2008. It is ironic that they are criticising the PTI government.”
He said the government had to turn to the IMF due to a lack of economic structure in the country.
PML-N says country made IMF’s colony
A journalist informed the foreign minister of harassment of journalists by Punjab Police in Burewala – a city in Vehari district. “If this is true then I hope Chief Minister Usman Buzdar will take notice of the incident and take action against the miscreants.”
On profit-making tactic ahead of Ramazan, Qureshi said it was the Punjab government’s responsibility to ensure that the district-wise price control committees were doing their jobs.
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