Govt to respect SC’s verdict on Senate open ballot: FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed the Supreme Court as the most appropriate forum for interpretation of the constitution and said the government would respect its verdict on the open ballot in Senate elections.

The foreign minister said the government had only two options, either to approach the court for a constitutional interpretation or to amend the constitution, for which it lacked the requisite two-thirds majority.

Commenting on the current political situation in the country, Qureshi said the PPP and PML-N spoke about strengthening democracy and demanded open voting but now were deviating from their claims.

“The opposition still wants to protect the continuity of corrupt practices. The interests of the PDM differ with their politics,” he said. He mentioned that the government invited the opposition for talks and gave them a chance in accordance with the Charter of Democracy(CoD).

The foreign minister said Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had made it clear that the army should not be dragged into politics and also stressed that the institution was fulfilling its constitutional and legal responsibilities.

He mentioned that army was fighting terrorists at the western border, countering miscreants in Balochistan, and was facing daily ceasefire violations on the eastern front besides assisting the government in handling the coronavirus challenge.

He said some elements affiliated with the PDM were supporting the enemy’s rhetoric by unnecessarily criticizing state institutions.

On a recent United Nations’ Monitoring Report, he said Pakistan’s stance had been validated at international level. He said Pakistan was playing its role in highlighting the atrocities faced by Kashmiris under continuous siege for last 18 months.

On the missing mountaineers of K2 expedition, he said the government and army were making every effort to search for the climbers. He mentioned that he spoke to the foreign minister of Iceland and updated informed him of the search operation.

Qureshi expressed dismay over the rampage by lawyers at Islamabad High Court, saying the situation would put a negative mark on the prestige of the legal fraternity.  “Lawyers must have taken the legal course to express their views. Now, senior lawyers should come forward to ease the tension,” he said.