‘India should take a leaf from Iran’s book’

MULTAN:

“All countries, except India, are working towards peace and stability in the world,” Pakistan Tehreeek-i-Insaf national organiser Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday.

He was talking to newsmen in Multan after offering Eid prayers at the mausoleum of Bahauddin Zakriya.

The former foreign minister said India should learn a lesson from the Iran-US nuclear agreement.

“Old habits die hard. The Indian government would rather start a war in the sub-continent than reciprocate friendly gestures from Pakistan,” he said.

He said international bodies should take notice of India’s involvement in destabilising Pakistan and hold it accountable.

He said the Iranian government had set a great precedent for its people. “Iran has shown that it does not want conflict,” he said. He said Iran’s international isolation should end.

He said those martyred in the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16 last year should not be forgotten.

He said the massacre had scarred the country forever and had outraged millions of people across the world.

He said the massacre of innocent children had breathed new life in efforts to eliminate terrorism from the country.

“We should not let their sacrifices to fade from our memories,” he said.

He said the Ranger’s operation against criminals in Karachi should conclude only after the city was rid of facilitators of terrorists and extortionists. He said Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain’s comment against Pakistan Army had offended the nation. He said his words would not be forgotten and he would not be allowed to insult the armed forces again.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2015.