MM News

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the 31st December deadline has passed, but the resignations from the opposition have not come yet.

Talking to the media at the Parliament House, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says the government is ready for dialogue with the opposition at the forum of parliament on national issues but not the ongoing accountability process.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan has made it clear time and again that no NRO will be given to the corrupt elements. However, he said they believe in the political process and dialogue.

Qureshi said the PDM leadership is holding a meeting at Jati Umra in Lahore today, but differences among the constituent parties of the alliance have already come forth.

He said the PPP’s Central Executive Committee has decided that the party will take part in the upcoming by-elections and the Senate elections and that it will not tender resignations from assemblies. He said the PPP has also not decided any date for long march.

The minister said the PDM had decided that their parliamentarians will send their resignations to JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman by December 31 last year, but PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari opposed it, arguing that the resignations should rather be sent to the heads of the parties. This shows lack of confidence within the alliance.

Condemning the tragic incident of the burning of a Hindu saint’s shrine by a mob in Karak, he said the Chief Justice of Pakistan has taken its notice. He said it is an irresponsible act and an attempt to damage Pakistan’s image and a report will be presented in the Supreme Court on January 4.

To a question, the foreign minister said Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir and Palestine issues is very clear and the Quaid-e-Azam’s stance on these issues is a guiding principle for us.