Govt not worried over PDM’s public meetings: Qureshi

MULTAN:

Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was not worried over the “unseasonal” public meetings of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Talking to different delegations in his home town constituency of NA 156, Qureshi warned that the public gatherings of the PDM, however, could cause the spread coronavirus in the country, said a press release issued here.

“In the last three years, PDM met only with failure. The opposition, now wants to come up with a new trick to fulfil its desires,” the foreign minister told the delegations. He cautioned that the PDM meetings would lead to the spread of the pandemic.

Qureshi stated that under the vibrant leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country was on the path to an unmatched development which could not be stopped by the noise of the opposition. The opposition, he said, lacked any agenda for the development of the country.

Qureshi emphasised that the PTI government would not accept any internal or external pressure regarding the ongoing accountability process. “Imran Khan is pursuing a zero-tolerance policy in order to eradicate menace of corruption and hold looters accountable,” Qureshi said.

“It has become a tradition in the country to loot national treasury, make properties and flee abroad, but this will not happen now. The prime minister has made it clear that every corrupt person will be held accountable. For the first time in the history of the country, powerful looters are brought to book.”

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran, the foreign minister continued, Pakistan was moving forward with the desire for peace in the region. “Pakistan wants a political settlement in Afghanistan in which all partners are united for durable peace”, Qureshi said.

He informed that he had discussion with Britain, US and China leaderships regarding peace in Afghanistan. “All the countries praised Pakistan’s conciliatory role in Afghanistan,” the foreign minister added. “The world is expressing confidence in Pakistan and appreciating its responsible role.”

Meanwhile, Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi said the incumbent government was not scared of the PDM’s “flop show and futile exercise” in Karachi. Talking to a private news channel, he said the PTI government would complete its constitutional term.

The minister said the PDM leaders were holding public gatherings to hide their corruption and money laundering but the PTI government under visionary leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan was committed to carry out the accountability process across-the-board.

He said PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman was using the seminary students to achieve his vested interest. He urged the PDM to stop “doing dirty politics for the political gains” and give its recommendations to the government for the betterment of the country and masses.

Replying to a question, Zaidi said both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had destroyed the infrastructure of Karachi, during their tenures, but the PTI government would improve infrastructure to facilitate the residents of metropolis.

PDM has ‘withered away’

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said in a statement on Sunday that the people were not interested in untimely PDM meetings because “this unnatural alliance had withered away”. The “PDM is a failed alliance, he added.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan is on the road of progress and development but these [PDM] elements only want to create hurdles in its journey,” Buzdar said, adding that the people already rejected the pointless meetings of PDM in the past.

He stated that protests were not the way to take countries ahead on the road of progress and development. “No one will be allowed to create a hindrance in the journey of public service,” he mentioned.