Shah Mahmood Qureshi downplays Fawad Chaudhry's hospital visit, says can't deviate from PTI policy

Says meaningful dialogue the only way for the country to move forward

LAHORE:

Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday clarified that former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry had visited him at the hospital only to enquire about his health, stressing that he remained bound by the party’s official policy.

Qureshi, who has been acquitted in multiple May 9 cases while several other PTI leaders have been sentenced, made the remarks during an informal interaction with journalists inside a courtroom. The former foreign minister is currently incarcerated in Lahore's Kot Lakpat jail in connection to other cases. 

Chaudhry and other ex-PTI leaders had met Qureshi at a hospital in November, where, they said the latter had endorsed their efforts to lower the political temperature.

Responding to a question about Chaudhry meeting him, Qureshi said they had both belonged to the same political party. He explained that Chaudhry first visited him at the hospital to check on his health and later came to his home as a guest. “You don’t ask a guest why they came to see you,” he remarked.

When asked if he supported Chaudhry’s proposed National Dialogue Committee, Qureshi said that as the PTI’s vice chairman, he could not deviate from the party’s official stance.

However, he added that the country's stakeholders needed to reflect on how ongoing political deadlock could be resolved. “After resistance, reconciliation ultimately follows,” he said, stressing that meaningful dialogue was the only way for the country to move forward.

Qureshi noted that PTI founder Imran Khan had authorised opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to handle negotiations, adding that the latter was better placed to decide the future course of action. “We are in jail and have limited access to information,” he said.

Commenting on regional affairs, Qureshi said Pakistan had provided significant assistance to Afghanistan in the past but stressed that Islamabad’s demand that Afghan soil not be used against Pakistan was legitimate.

He added that Afghanistan’s prosperity and stability were closely linked to Pakistan, saying Kabul would need to maintain positive relations with Islamabad if it sought long-term stability. “We want peace, and Afghanistan should stand with us against terrorism,” he said.

Qureshi further stated that the situation along the Iran border was currently under control.

Referring to regional security, he said Pakistan had defeated India in combat and that “God granted us honour”, while cautioning that the threat from India had not yet fully subsided.