NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that India may be behind the cancellation of the New Zealand cricket team’s tour, while we were informed at the last minute that cricket could not start due to security concerns.
According to details, the foreign minister while addressing the Pakistani community in New York said that Pakistanis abroad are our capital who have been provided investment facilities. The chairman is grateful to NADRA for setting up the NADRA desk, he said.
Addressing the Pakistani community, FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the establishment of the NADRA Desk would benefit Pakistanis living abroad. Legislation is underway to give overseas Pakistanis the right to vote, under which objections to their vote will be removed, he added.
During his address, FM Qureshi said that despite the difficulties, efforts would be made to give the right to vote to Pakistanis abroad. The prime minister directed that Overseas Pakistanis be kept informed of the situation in the country, he maintained.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that whenever the country needed, Pakistanis abroad cooperated. Pakistanis from other countries sent 29.4 billion in remittances to Pakistan. Overseas Pakistanis would be welcome if they wanted to contribute to the country’s development.
Qureshi said that more than 2.2 billion has been transferred to Pakistan from the Roshan Digital account. They are also bringing an e-court system for Pakistanis living abroad. Efforts are being made to reform the PIA and direct flights to the United States, FM Qureshi added.
Regarding the national airline, the foreign minister said that in the past, PIA was damaged and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The company faces financial difficulties as well as a shortage of aircraft.
“We have assured New Zealand of all possible security,” he said. “Helicopters were also offered to reach the stadium instead of buses,” Qureshi added.
Earlier, the New Zealand team was satisfied with the security, so they came to Pakistan, otherwise, they would not have come, claimed Qureshi. Expressing regret over the cancellation of his visit to New Zealand, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan’s security agencies had not received any threat.
Read more: FM Qureshi arrives in New York, stresses on not abandoning Afghanistan
“The neighboring country may be behind this. We raised the issue of Kashmir in the Security Council and breathed new life into it,” Qureshi said. “We strongly reject the issue of occupied Kashmir as an internal matter.”
On the situation in Afghanistan, the foreign minister said that Pakistan has been hosting 3 million Afghan refugees for four decades. “Pakistan will be most affected by the deteriorating law and order situation in Afghanistan. The international community cannot leave Afghanistan alone,” Qureshi said.
