Former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday that visas issued to Americans during his tenure is a non-issue and was brought to the limelight to divert attention from other issues which matter.

Addressing a press conference in Multan, Gilani said, "This letter that has been leaked has a set of conditions that can be found in the first part, they include the point that people should be given visas only if they have the State Department's recommendation and the reason for their visit is very clear."

"The point of creating this controversy is to keep the nation from focusing on the real matter at hand," said Gilani while discussing the controversy which arose after Hussain Haqqani's op-ed in a foreign publication.

The former prime minister added that the presence of Osama bin Laden be discussed rather than raising the issues of visas.

"It is clear that the force that came into Pakistan for the operation that killed Osama did not have any visa at all."

Gilani also demanded that an investigation into visas issued to Americans should be conducted from 2002 to 2017.

Brushing the controversy off as a 'non-issue' Gilani said, "If the findings of the judicial commission that we created had been made public these questions that are being raised today would have been answered a long time ago."

'Iftikhar Chaudhry wanted to be president'

Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Friday criticised former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, saying he was a "political judge" during his tenure.

He said Chaudhry set up a political party which he said, was an indication of his "intentions".

"He always wanted to be president," Zardari said.

He also congratulated former federal minister for religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi who had been jailed over charges of corruption, saying "God has given him respect."

The former president further said PPP aims to win Punjab in the next elections, adding that the party is currently being reorganised in the province.