ISLAMABAD – Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asserted on Saturday that the release of captured Indian pilot Abhinandan was not under any sort of international pressure.
Addressing a press conference alongside Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar at the Governor House, the minister clarified that Abhinandan’s release was just a gesture of peace and also a message for millions of peace-loving Indians.
The foreign minister reiterated that Pakistan did not want war with India as it desired peace in the region adding that the world was now realizing that who wanted peace and who wanted war.
The minister warned that war might be an option for Indian Prime Minister for political gains in the wake of his declining popularity graph.
Modi found fuelling anti-Pakistan sentiments among the people an easy way for achieving victory in elections, he added.
Foreign Minister Qureshi said keeping in view the track record of India, he had feared any misadventure by it well before the Pulwama incident. He had also expressed his apprehensions with various dignitaries at diplomatic level.
“The world at large had appreciated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s policy statement, offering India to sort out all issues through dialogue and in a peaceful manner, while avoiding any war and altercation,” Qureshi noted.
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He said as usual the entire Pakistani nation was united against the Indian aggression and war hysteria while the Indian people were divided as they had now realized the factual position about their country’s aggression against Pakistan.
Around 21 political parties of India had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as to why he was going for a war in the region, he added.
Qureshi also paid rich tribute to the Pakistani media for showing maturity and playing a responsible role in the whole scenario while a section of Indian media was creating hype to further intensify the situation.
Qureshi said in the joint session of Parliament, all the treasury and opposition members of Senate and National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution containing 21 points to present Pakistan’s viewpoint over Kashmir, Indian aggression and other issues to the world.
“There is not ‘Modi mindset’ in entire India as a large number of Indians want peace and do not want to see the dangerous consequences of war,” Qureshi emphasized.
He said the Punjab governor was a known and respected figure, being former member of UK House of Commons and the government has decided to contact the members of British Parliament and European Parliament.
Pakistan was in need of peace. Its new government had an agenda of economic development, job creation and promotion of investment and tourism, which required peace, he added.
The foreign minister said Pakistan had to pay the heavy price in the shape of 70,000 casualties due to tension on its western border for the last 17 years and the world knew well the Pakistan Army’s role in defending its border from Swat to Wana.
Today, Afghanistan and the US were engaged in peace talks in Doha for which Pakistan played a role, and how come it was possible that Pakistan would want war clouds hover over it on its eastern border, Qureshi wondered.
To a question, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said being a former member of British parliament, he would dispatch letters to all UK parliamentarians, asking them to play their role in restoring peace in the region.
“We are trying to bring all the parliamentarians on a point that there should be no war between the two countries and now they are convinced that Pakistan wants peace,” he added.
He also paid tribute to the Pakistan Army which did not take any offensive action against the enemy, but retaliated in defence of the motherland.
