Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi gave an interview to Tolo News in Saturday. During the interview, Shah Mahmood Qureshi stirred a massive controversy by refusing to answer a question on notorious Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden.
The journalist mentioned that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had called Osama bin Laden a ‘martyr’. To that, the Foreign Minister said that “he was quoted out of context” and a “particular section of the media played it up.”
OBL being a martyr is out-of- syllabus question. pic.twitter.com/BHF0TVuDLa
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) June 20, 2021
When the journalist prodded whether Qureshi himself believed bin Laden was a ‘martyr’, he said after few seconds of careful contemplation, “I will let that pass.” During the interview, Qureshi was prodded on the Afghan peace process and questioned whether Taliban was receiving support from Pakistani soil.
Qureshi was also seen siding with Taliban on multiple instances, including when he subtly implied that the Afghan Government does not want peace while suggesting they demonstrate greater flexibility but maintaining that Taliban wants peace.
Qureshi also suggested that there were forces who did not want to see peace in the country. He also said that the Indian presence in Afghanistan is “perhaps larger” than it ought to be claiming that the two countries do not share a border.
“Obviously, you have sovereign relations and you have bilateral relations and you have every right to have sovereign and bilateral relations with India. You have trade with India. They come and carry out development work there, that’s completely fine with us,” he said before adding, “But at times we feel that their presence is perhaps larger than it ought to be because they…don’t share a border with you.”
Pakistani FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi says the Indian presence in Afghanistan is larger than it ought to be as it does not share borders with Afghanistan. Watch the interview on TOLOnews, TOLO TV and https://t.co/fXhOuWrZv9 at 9pm (Kabul time) on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Mf6GTGZF84
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) June 17, 2021
Shah Mahmood Qureshi also said that the relations “bothered” him because India was carrying out “terrorist activities” against Pakistan using Afghan soil. It was after Qureshi said that it would be an “exaggeration” to blame Taliban for the increasing violence in Afghanistan.
He said, “Again, if you try and create this impression that the violence is high because of the Taliban…again, that would be an exaggeration. Why do I say that? Aren’t there other elements over there who are playing the role of a spoiler?” He added, “Daesh (the Islamic State), like forces within Afghanistan…who gain from the war economy, who want to perpetuate their power, who are not seeing beyond their nose and just want to hang on to power.”
Earlier in 2020, Imran Khan referred the 9/11 mastermind and global terrorist Osama Bin Laden as a martyr. Khan accused America for killing Osama bin Laden within Pakistan without informing Islamabad.
Another video had also surfaced where he refused to consider bin Laden even a terrorist. In fact, he went ahead to say that George Washington was a terrorist for British but freedom fighter for others.
