ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party has criticised the government for failing to do enough for the people of held Kashmir and over resurgence of terrorism in the country.

‘‘While Kashmir is burning and people are forced to stay indoors due to the tyranny of Indian forces, only a tweet is not enough in support of Kashmir cause and Kashmiri people,” said PPP’s Punjab chapter president Qamar Zaman Kaira while address­ing a press conference along with other party leaders at the PPP media office here on Friday.

The opposition party declared that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had failed to get international support on the Kashmir issue.

Mr Kaira criticised the statement of the foreign minister that the world had a huge economic interest in India, and said it was ‘‘a display of haplessness’’. Despite the grave situation in held Kashmir, he said, Pakistan approached only one country whereas most of the world was considering India’s action in held Kashmir as its ‘internal’ matter. “Why did Pakistan not approach other countries? That is why we term it a failure of the PTI government,” he added.

Kaira says tweet is not enough in support of Kashmir cause

Condemning the deadly attack on a mosque in Quetta, the Punjab leadership of the party said Pakistan was once again faced with terrorism due to the inefficiency of the PTI government, which was only interested in victimising its political opponents.

Mr Kaira was accompanied by PPP’s Punjab general secretary Chaud­hry Manzoor Ahmed and other party leaders during the press conference.

They said the key focus of the government was only the arrest of PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders.

They said Faryal Talpur was transferred to prison at midnight when her brother was in NAB’s custody and party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was in Muzaffarabad to express solidarity with his Kashmiri brethren on Eid.

Earlier, they added, Maryam Nawaz was arrested at a time when was she was visiting her father in jail.

Mr Ahmed said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not achieve anything by keeping former president Asif Ali Zardari in detention for 68 days, while Faryal Talpur remained in custody for over 60 days before she was shifted to jail in an ambulance.

“Why was she moved in ambulance if she was not sick?” he asked.

The PPP leaders also criticised the authorities for not allowing Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari to meet her father on Eid at the NAB detention centre in Islamabad in violation of court orders.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2019