Qadri is a dual national, means no good: Khar
Foreign minister says Qadri wants a role of military and judiciary in politics, could be arrested for it.
"This person has come to literally derail the system and nothing else," says Hina Rabbani Khar. PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON:
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar termed Minhajul Quran International (MQI) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri's demands “preposterous and unconstitutional” and said the cleric means “no good”.
In a ‘Question and Answer’ session after her speech at the Asia Society in New York, Foreign Minister Khar said that Qadri was a dual national which bars him from contesting provincial or national assembly elections.
“This person, who has come to literally derail the system and nothing else, happens to be someone who constitutionally cannot contest a single provincial or national assembly seat,” Khar said.
“This is a person who parachutes in from elsewhere and starts making demands of a government. He wants a role of the military and judiciary in the politics of Pakistan, it’s preposterous. He could be arrested for it, to be quite honest,” she added.
Commenting on Qadri’s ongoing long march in Islamabad, Khar said that the participants of the rally were around 30,000 in number by all accounts. Qadri’s organisation MQI is well-organised which makes it easier for him to gather this number of people, she maintained.
The foreign minister accepted that there are governance issues in Pakistan but said that the timing of Qadri’s long march was not appropriate. If Qadri had come two and a half years ago to criticise the government and warn the people, it would have been understandable, she said.
“When we are two months away from the first democratic transition in Pakistan’s history in 60 years, this person arrives from a faraway land, and demands that the parliament be dissolved.”
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar termed Minhajul Quran International (MQI) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri's demands “preposterous and unconstitutional” and said the cleric means “no good”.
In a ‘Question and Answer’ session after her speech at the Asia Society in New York, Foreign Minister Khar said that Qadri was a dual national which bars him from contesting provincial or national assembly elections.
“This person, who has come to literally derail the system and nothing else, happens to be someone who constitutionally cannot contest a single provincial or national assembly seat,” Khar said.
“This is a person who parachutes in from elsewhere and starts making demands of a government. He wants a role of the military and judiciary in the politics of Pakistan, it’s preposterous. He could be arrested for it, to be quite honest,” she added.
Commenting on Qadri’s ongoing long march in Islamabad, Khar said that the participants of the rally were around 30,000 in number by all accounts. Qadri’s organisation MQI is well-organised which makes it easier for him to gather this number of people, she maintained.
The foreign minister accepted that there are governance issues in Pakistan but said that the timing of Qadri’s long march was not appropriate. If Qadri had come two and a half years ago to criticise the government and warn the people, it would have been understandable, she said.
“When we are two months away from the first democratic transition in Pakistan’s history in 60 years, this person arrives from a faraway land, and demands that the parliament be dissolved.”