Qureshi cautions against second ‘severe’ wave of virus

Foreign minister urges citizens to demonstrate responsibility, follow SOPs

MULTAN:

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday cautioned the nation against the second “severe” wave of Covid-19 and urged citizens to demonstrate more responsibility and follow the standard operating procedures.

“People should wear masks and maintain social distancing. They should follow the instructions of National Command and Operation Centre as it would help controlling the pandemic,” he said while addressing his constituency NA-156 in Multan.

“In case of non-compliance, the government will take hard decisions,” he warned.

The country has seen a surge in the number of coronavirus patients during the second wave as thousands of new cases are being reported daily with the premier warning of going into a lockdown if the situation continues to worsen.

Addressing the people in his constituency, FM Qureshi declared that India had established a special cell in their intelligence agency to promote terrorism in Pakistan.

“Around Rs80 billion have been earmarked for this special cell by the Indian government,” he said.

Pakistan has categorically stated that India had been sabotaging the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is supporting terrorism in Pakistan.Earlier this month, FM Qureshi and DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar, in a joint media conference, presented a dossier detailing New Delhi’s involvement in terror attacks in Pakistan.

Multiple audio and video clips along with documents of Indian handlers and terrorists communicating with each other and Indian intelligence handlers passing on instructions to terrorists in Pakistan were presented during the conference.

The foreign minister said that the dossier contained many details of which, some would be used at the "time of need".

He said while Pakistan was combatting terrorism on its soil, India was using its soil to surround Pakistan "in a web of terrorism".

The foreign minister noted that during recent months, India had tried its best to fan terrorism across Pakistan.

"Indian intelligence agencies are today supporting terrorist groups defeated and outlawed by Pakistan."

He named two Indian intelligence agencies, RAW and DIA, which were financing, training and harbouring terrorists.

On Sunday, the foreign minister stressed that Pakistan would not remain silent against the nefarious designs of the enemy, saying the country had conveyed its concerns to the international community and that the “enemy would face failure at every front”.

“Promotion of peace is not only our wish but top priority of Pakistan. Our wish for peace should not be taken as a weakness,” he said.

“Pakistan is fully prepared and capable of responding to foreign aggression and no one will be allowed to cast an evil eye on our country,” he added.

The foreign minister observed that the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) was getting worse with every passing day.

“The ill-treatment towards Muslims is not limited to Jammu and Kashmir only but the Muslims are facing the same situation across India.

“The whole world witnessed what had happened in Delhi and Gujrat,” he stated.

(With input from APP)