Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Saturday categorically stated that Pakistan would not hold any covert talks either with India or Israel. The minister was reacting to a tweet by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal who sought clarification from the government over reports circulating on the social media that an Israeli aircraft allegedly visited Islamabad.
“The reality is that Imran Khan is not Nawaz Sharif nor his cabinet has fake Aristotles like you. We will neither hold any secret dialogue with Modi nor Israel,” the minister said, advising the opposition not to worry as Pakistan was in safe hands.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also dismissed the report as fake and baseless. “Something which is not true does not even warrant a response,” he said, when asked to comment on the report.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also denied reports of the presence of any Israeli aircraft in Pakistani airspace or at any of the country’s airports and termed the reports ‘totally baseless’.
An Israeli journalist had earlier tweeted that a business jet flew from Tel Aviv to Islamabad on a cleared flight plan after making a brief stopover at Amman.
The BBC, after an initial investigation into the matter, established that the aircraft was a ‘Global Express XRS’ built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. It carries the serial number 9394 and was registered in the self-governing British Crown dependency Isle of Man on February 22, 2017. According to its registration details, the aircraft is owned by Multibird Overseas Ltd which is listed in British Virgin Islands. These details rule out the speculation that it was an Israeli aircraft.
Govt will take plunderers to task
Separately, Fawad Hussain on Saturday ruled out any compromise on accountability, saying that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was voted to power to get back the stolen national wealth from looters and plunderers.
Accountability was on top in the PTI’s manifesto and if its government failed to fulfil its promise then there would be no justification for it to remain in power, he said while addressing a reception.
The minister said no one would be given an NRO as reiterated by Prime Minister Imran Khan because it was the government’s responsibility to bring all those involved in corruption to justice.
The loans taken during the last 10 years, he said, were not spent on the welfare of masses but the same were rather transferred to personal accounts of previous rulers. All the sectors, including health, education, sports and economy, were in a shambles as unemployment had increased while billions of rupees were being found in fictitious accounts, which was an ample proof of their corruption, he added. High inflation and unemployment in the country, he said, were the direct outcome of the loot and plunder of the previous two regimes.
The minister said unlike the past rulers, Imran Khan would spend each and every penny of loans on the welfare of the poor.
At the start of the speech, Fawad paid tribute to the valiant Kashmiris for their freedom struggle, saying their sacrifices would bear fruit and the day was not far off when they would get rid of the Indian subjugation. The entire Pakistani nation stood by the Kashmiri brethren and would continue to support them till realization of their goal of freedom, he added.
Published in Daily Times, October 28th 2018.
