ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has termed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s statement regarding a possible military action by India an attempt to divert people’s attention from other important issues and the government’s incapability to solve the problems facing the nation.

The PPP has also expressed concern over the foreign minister’s act of disclosing the Indian plan at a news conference in his hometown Multan, instead of making a policy statement on the floor of parliament.

PPP information secretary and MNA Dr Nafeesa Shah in a statement here on Sunday alleged that the government was trying to ‘frighten’ the hard-pressed people of the country from an India-Pakistan war.

Ms Shah said that Pakistan’s armed forces were fully capable of responding to any aggression from India and each and every citizen would stand by the army in any such situation.

Asks government to take parliament into confidence over possible attack by India

“Selected Prime Minister Imran Khan is pushing the country towards anarchy. The puppet government has failed on every front,” Ms Shah said, alleging that the prime minister was hiding important national issues from parliament.

Speaking at a news conference in Multan, Foreign Minister Qureshi had claimed that Pakistan had reliable intelligence that India was hatching a new plan for aggression against Pakistan and it could happen between April 16 and 20.

Mr Qureshi, who is also the vice-chairman of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), had feared that a new incident like Pulwama suicide attack might be staged in India-held Kashmir to use it to increase diplomatic pressure on Pakistan and justify Indian aggression. “Now, if this happens, God forbid, you can imagine its impact on regional peace and stability,” he had stated.

PPP deputy information secretary Palwasha Khan and party’s media coordinator Nazir Dhoki, during a press conference in Islamabad, expressed concern over the foreign minister’s act of making such an important disclosure at a news conference, instead of waiting for the parliament’s session beginning next week.

Ms Khan said it was obvious that such an important intelligence report would have first reached the prime minister, before Mr Qureshi.

“Why did the government not take parliament into confidence after receiving such intelligence?” she asked, adding: “Making of such an important announcement outside parliament shows the carelessness and incompetency of the ­present government.”

She said: “Do not try to create fear among the people by spreading news regarding attack from India. Tell the facts to the nation.”

Ms Khan said that at a time when the country was facing a war threat from India, Prime Minister Imran Khan was busy in attacking the opposition parties in public meetings. She said that instead of addressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Khan in his speech during his recent public meeting in Jamrud kept on attacking PPP leaders Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other opposition leaders.

“When Modi is talking about launching an attack on Pakistan, the selected prime minister is busy in his tirade against the country’s opposition,” she added.

She regretted that on the one hand, the foreign minister was saying that India could attack the country and, on the other, the government was releasing 350 Indian fishermen.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2019