LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday clarified that former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry visited him at the hospital only to inquire about his health, stressing that he remained bound by the party’s official policy.
Qureshi, who was acquitted in several May 9 cases while several other PTI leaders were convicted, made the remarks during an informal interaction with journalists in a courtroom. The former foreign minister is currently lodged in Kot Lakpat jail in Lahore in connection with other cases.
Chaudhry and other former PTI leaders had met Qureshi at a hospital in November, where, they said, the latter had supported their efforts to lower the political temperature.
Responding to a question on Chaudhry’s meeting, Qureshi said they both belonged to the same political party. He said Chaudhry first visited him at the hospital to check on his health and then came to his house as a guest. “You don’t ask a guest why they came to see you,” he remarked.
When asked if he supported the National Dialogue Committee proposed by Chaudhry, Qureshi said that as PTI vice-president, he could not deviate from the party’s official position.
He, however, added that the country’s stakeholders needed to think about how to break the current political impasse. “After resistance, finally comes reconciliation,” he said, stressing that meaningful dialogue was the only way for the country to move forward.
Qureshi noted that PTI founder Imran Khan had authorized opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to handle the negotiations, adding that the latter was better placed to decide the future course of action. “We are in prison and have limited access to information,” he said.
Commenting on regional affairs, Qureshi said Pakistan had provided significant assistance to Afghanistan in the past, but stressed that Islamabad’s demand that Afghan soil not be used against Pakistan was legitimate.
He added that Afghanistan’s prosperity and stability were closely linked to Pakistan, saying Kabul should maintain positive relations with Islamabad if it sought long-term stability. “We want peace and Afghanistan must stand with us against terrorism,” he said.
Qureshi further said that the situation along the Iranian border was currently under control.
Talking about regional security, he said Pakistan had defeated India in battle and “God has given us honour”, while warning that the threat from India was yet to completely disappear.
