Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced on Tuesday that he will meet with foreign ministers from numerous nations during his visit to China.
In a statement provided to the media before departing for Beijing, he stated that regional concerns would be discussed at his talks with the FMs of Central Asian Republics, as well as those of Iran and Russia. “Our sessions will also cover the region’s economic and political stability, as well as the situation in Afghanistan,” he said.
Qureshi emphasized Pakistan’s cordial relations with all countries and stated that the country desired further deepening of these relationships.
The foreign minister went on to explain that the memories of the Afghanistan summit on September 19, 2021, were still fresh in their thoughts. “And who can forget the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting of foreign ministers conducted in Islamabad just a few days ago; see how many countries sent delegations to the occasion,” he continued.
FM Qureshi claimed that one of the world’s most powerful countries had forced Pakistan to cancel its trip to Russia. “But we attempted to make it clear that the nature of our relations with the country was bilateral,” he explained.
He further stated that it was up to Prime Minister Imran Khan to reveal the contents of the ‘threatening letter’ Pakistan received from some other governments.
The foreign minister regretted that the opposition parties were squandering their money to purchase the loyalty of MNAs ahead of voting on the no-trust vote in the National Assembly, saying that such activities were not a good portent for the country’s and democracy’s future. “Overthrowing a government with money is not helpful for the country at all,” he said, adding, “This would instead set a horrible precedent.”
Qureshi stated that when the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came to power in 2018, it was the party’s intention that its foreign policy is independent. “In order to ensure the country’s economic stability, our government moved its attention from geopolitics to geoeconomics,” he explained.
Speaking about the talks being held with the PTI government’s coalition partners to gain their support before voting on the no-confidence motion, he said that when he and other PTI leaders went to meet Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MNAs at Parliament Lodges on Monday night, they were very pleased to learn that PML-Q had decided to throw its weight behind the government and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had been nominated “We believe that the PML-decision Q’s will assist the MQM-P in determining its future course of action with regard to the no-trust motion,” he concluded.
