Shah Mahmood Qureshi says party cancelled rallies in Punjab due to harassment of women, not rifts in party
Senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the opposition parties are waiting for the reply of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about the letter of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah regarding the Terms or Reference for the judicial commission to probe the Panama Leaks.
“In my opinion, the government will sit with the opposition parties to discuss the TORs for the commission,” Qureshi said. He was talking to the Editor of Pakistan Today Arif Nizami in his channel 24 programme DNA on Thursday night.
He further added that the PTI would prefer to resolve the matter through negotiations and would resort to the sit-in outside the residence of the prime minister in Jati Umra “only as a last option”.
PTI RIFTS:
Qureshi said the PTI did not cancel its plan of public gatherings in Punjab due to a rift in the party. He said the Faisalabad rally was cancelled keeping in view the commotion at the women’s enclave during the Lahore rally.
“The PTI is the first party which has mobilised the women of this country politically and the party does not want anything to happen to them during public gatherings. The Faisalabad rally will be held after ensuring the security of our women participants,” Qureshi said.
Talking about his relations with Chaudhry Sarwar, he said that the news of a clash between them were completely baseless. He said there are no problems in his relations with Chaudhry Sarwar.
“I do not share my constituency with Sarwar, nor does he belong to my district,” Qureshi said, while rejecting the reports that there is any gulf between Sarwar and him. He said it is wrong to think that he and Chaudhry Sarwar are fighting for the slot of the Punjab chief minister as elections are still a ways off and no one even knows if the PTI will get the majority in the next elections,” Qureshi said. He said he is not leaving the PTI and is instead committed to bringing reforms in his party by raising his concerns.
“The United States must reconsider its policy in which it has refused Pakistan the F-16 deal. The US must realise that Pakistan has fought a long battle against terrorism,” Qureshi, who has also served as the foreign minister of Pakistan, told Arif Nizami.
