ISLAMABAD – Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday built a strong case against his own party’s government and came out with his vision to take the country out of the decades-old crisis situation including the issues in the fields of energy, food and law and order. Qureshi, in an hour-long discourse with the media at the National Press Club, deliberated upon the issues being faced by the common man and said only a “clean and honest” leadership could take the country out of the crisis along with the introduction of good governance.
“When I recently paid a visit to the remote areas of Punjab and Sindh on my way to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, I saw gloom and doom which compelled me to go for a soul-searching journey. Today, all macro and micro indicators are pointing towards the wrong direction,” he said. Qureshi said debt burden had increased manifold and had become unimaginable. “Around 90 percent of the debt servicing is being made in domestic debts. Poverty, inflation and unemployment are on the rise due to which our youth is disillusioned and frustrated.
Flight of capital is on the rise while apart from economic mess, the law and order situation is so worsening that kidnapping for ransom and crimes rate is on the surge,” he added. Hinting at the rising political temperatures, Qureshi said it was unfortunate to note that when the country badly needed cohesion and unity, the pendulum was switching from political reconciliation to political confrontation. “Today, Pakistan’s green passport has become an embarrassment and the influential are fast switching to other passports and the country’s image has been badly affected in the international community.