January 24, 2021
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday said that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has recognised Prime Minister Imran Khan as ‘elected’ premier by proposing a no-confidence motion against him.
“He should now start calling Imran Khan an elected prime minister and not selected,” he said while talking to media in Multan.
The foreign minister questioned the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) anti-Israel rallies and said that since Islamabad has made it clear it would not recognise Tel Aviv until the Palestine conflict is resolved, there is no point in holding those demonstrations.
“They are misleading the nation," he said.
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Talking about a new administration in the White House, Qureshi said Islamabad is looking to establish good relations with Joe Biden’s government. “The world and region have changed in these four years and a lot of changes have occurred in Pakistan as well.”
There is a harmony between Biden administration and Pakistan government's policies as they are similar to each other, he said. “Biden wants reduced violence in Afghanistan and Islamabad also supports democracy in the neighbouring country.”
He said the new US leadership would soon realise that India has changed under Narendra Modi and is "no more a democratic country."
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Qureshi said the PTI government played no part in the agreement signed between Broadsheet LLC and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). “The premier has said the issue should be investigated. Justice (retd) Azmat Saeed has a reputation for his honesty. If the Opposition is so certain it did nothing wrong, then why the panic?” he questioned.
The foreign minister said the federal government has allowed the import of wheat and sugar to mitigate the food crisis. But for the gas crisis, he blamed the previous government of PML-N. “We are bound by the agreements they signed.”