MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says there was a dispute between the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the plane owner which had been seized by the Malaysian authorities.

Speaking to the media here on Saturday, he claimed the plane had been seized by the Malaysian authorities under an agreement between Malaysia and the UK.

“The plane was seized after a decision by a British court as there was a dispute between the plane owner and the PIA which hired it on lease,” he said.

He said Pakistan’s diplomats in Malaysia provided timely assistance to the stranded passengers who were travelling by the plane.

“They were provided food besides making alternative arrangement for their further travel,” he said. He said the aviation division was looking into the matter.

Answering a question about the Broadsheet revelations, the foreign minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan had made a committee to investigate it.

“Whosoever shifted the country’s resources outside the country through money laundering should be held accountable,” he said.

He said Pakistan had pinned hopes that the new administration in the United States would work with it.

“Hopefully the new US administration will play its role over the Kashmir issue. Newly- elected US President Joe Biden will hopefully warn India over the violations of human rights in Kashmir,” he said.

He said before protesting outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the PTI’s foreign funding issue, the PPP and the PML-N leadership should appear before the commission to explain their positions on the same issue. He said the ECP had also summoned the leadership of the PML-N and the PPP on Jan 18.

“They want to protest outside the ECP in connection with the foreign funding case of the PTI. We never denied the right to protest. Hold protest but in democratic way. Don’t break the law in the guise of protest. The PTI is the only party which provided all details regarding the donations it received to the ECP… We have provided the list of about 41,000 donors. We are doing fundraising while remaining within the limits of law.

“We respect all national and international laws in this regard. Recognized audit firms are conducting audit of our party on an annual basis. All the queries regarding fundraising had been answered and if there are any further queries, we will answer them as well. The PML-N and the PPP should also tell the ECP that from where their funds are coming. The PTI had presented all the required record and now the leadership of the PPP and the PML-N should also submit their reply,” he said.

He said levelling allegations was easy but replying to the allegations was not. Let’s see whether the leadership of the PPP and the PML-N would appear before the election commission and they submit a comprehensive reply.

He said he doesn’t think that the opposition is interested in any kind of dialogue with the government; however, if the opposition would express its agenda, the government would think about it. He said the government was making all-out efforts to control the prices but there were multiple factors behind the price hike.

He said the government had decided to reconstruct one of the oldest and historical Hindu temples, Prahladpuri, in Multan, which was demolished by the protesting people in retaliation for demolition of Babri Masjid in India.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was going to visit Multan, though the date was yet to be confirmed.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2021