Manmohan agreed to be at Kartarpur event as common man: FM – Newspaper

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accepted his invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor, scheduled for November 9, although as a common man and not As a special guest.

"He is welcome even as a common participant," the Foreign Minister said while speaking with the media on Saturday.

Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan would inaugurate the part of the Pakistan corridor, facilitating the pilgrimage of 5,000 Indian Sikhs every day to his sacred place. India initially was reluctant to open the corridor, but due to public pressure from the Indian Punjab, New Delhi decided to organize a ceremony related to the corridor the same day, he said, adding that the arrangements made by Pakistan were much better than the They are ending. for india

Earlier, the Indian Prime Minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh, in an announcement on October 3 stated that former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh would visit the Guru Nanak celebrations in Pakistan by invitation, an indirect way of saying that the invitation of Pakistan to the Indian leader was not a factor. According to NDTVDr. Singh will visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan for the celebrations of the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak as part of a group of all parties.

On Pakistan's efforts to calm tensions in the Gulf region, the Foreign Minister said that both Saudi Arabia and Iran had agreed to resolve their differences through dialogue. He explained: "Some forces are active to damage the unity of the Muslim ummah, but it is of interest to the ummah that differences be resolved through negotiations."

He also stressed the need to restore peace in neighboring Afghanistan and said that Pakistan condemned the recent explosion in the Nangarhar mosque that claimed precious lives. "To restore peace in Afghanistan, it is necessary to stop the violence," he said.

Qureshi said that India failed to include Pakistan on the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and expressed the hope that Pakistan's Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government will achieve all FATF goals to get the country out of The gray list.

He explained that Pakistan had received several tasks until February 2020 that the acting government would achieve and remove the country from the gray list. He said the FATF recognized the steps taken by the government to control money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Foreign Minister said that the world had neglected India's point of view on Kashmir and that international civil society demanded the curfew and the end of human rights violations in Kashmir controlled by India. Pakistan will observe Black Day on October 27, the day India occupied Kashmir, he said, and urged opposition parties to avoid any measures that could strengthen the Indian point of view.

Referring to the anti-government protest that Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) is planning on October 31, Qureshi said people would never become part of any political instability in the country. He said there was no possibility of imposing a martial law, since democracy had a bright future, with the masses very aware of the regional situation and events in Kashmir.

Avoiding answering the question about any plan for the arrest of the head of the JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the Foreign Minister said that the government would treat the participants in the "Azadi march", since such a situation was treated in democracy.

“There is the Constitution and the law in the country and we are all obliged to act accordingly. Flowering good political traditions is a good action. We will try to have Maulana express what she wants to do peacefully, since it is her right, but there are [cap] in the capacity of the militia or a [private] armed force with sticks in the Constitution, "he said.

Qureshi said there was always room for political negotiations. He expressed the hope that both parties have the courage to hear the point of view of the other.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has formed a team, headed by Pervez Khattak, to negotiate with the JUI-F and we must take it seriously. I would ask Maulana not to take a step that strengthens the enemies of Pakistan.

“Delhi is very happy because of the political situation prevailing in Pakistan, since India thinks that if Pakistan will devote itself to its internal affairs, it will adapt to India. Due to the situation in Kashmir, India is under pressure and wants a problem in Pakistan to divert attention from the Kashmir government. We should avoid taking measures that are detrimental to the interest of the country and support the Indian point of view. I am sure that opposition parties make so much sense, ”he said.

Posted on Dawn, October 20, 2019