‘If Qureshi doesn’t shut his mouth, PPP workers will open theirs’

Ghotki rally was a succes­s but the people won’t vote for him, says ND Khan.

KARACHI: Shah Mehmood Qureshi should shut his mouth, said former federal minister and senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Prof. ND Khan while responding to allegations made by the former PPP leader on Sunday.

“If he doesn’t, then PPP workers will be forced to open their mouths.”

While addressing a press conference at the PPP media cell, Khan criticised Qureshi and said that he was acting out against the PPP leadership because he was not given the foreign ministry portfolio again. “He played a double game with Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan,” said the former federal minister. “Qureshi was  jockeying for a better position in both parties but failed to convince Sharif and joined Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.” He added that he was quite shocked to hear what a soft spoken man like Qureshi had to say about the PPP. “I do not know why he has become so harsh,” he said. “Qureshi is misleading the nation.”

He added that Qureshi’s allegations against President Asif Ali Zardari were baseless as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was the democratic head of the country. He claimed that there was no external or internal threat to the country’s nuclear weapons. “When he was in Benazir Bhutto’s cabinet he was very polite,” said Khan. “Now it looks like he is trying to appease his new boss.” He added that when Qureshi was foreign minister he never raised any objection against the party but now his propaganda has turned into treason.

Responding to a question about the Ghotki rally, Khan said that the rally was a success because his spiritual followers were present otherwise the people in the area would not vote for him.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2011.