Daily Times

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said the revelations by the ex-governor of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) about the reality of Pulwama incident had exposed India’s designs against Pakistan.

In a tweet, he said the revelations showed how the Indian government exploited the situation for political gains, which vindicated Pakistan’s position.

He urged the international community to take notice of India’s dangerous brinkmanship that could have led to disastrous consequences for the region. The Foreign Office, in a statement, said the disclosures demonstrated how the Indian leadership had habitually used the bogey of terrorism from Pakistan to advance its sham victimhood narrative and the Hindutva agenda, clearly for domestic political gains.

“We hope that the international community would take cognizance of the latest revelations and see through India’s propaganda campaign against Pakistan, driven by selfish political considerations and based on lies and deceit,” it said.

The FO said it was time India be held accountable for the actions that imperiled regional peace in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.

Meanwhile, the prime minister paid tribute to the late minister for religious affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor who died in a traffic mishap in the capital.

Addressing a session of the National Assembly (NA), the PM said that the late Mufti was a renowned religious scholar and an honest and hardworking member of his cabinet. “Late Mufti ran his election campaign in his constituency on a motorcycle,” he said.

During the cabinet meetings, he found the late minister as a straightforward and clear-minded speaker.

The PM said that due to his hard work and dedication, no complaints were reported during the Hajj arrangements when compared with those issues related to mismanagement that had emerged during the previous government’s tenure.

The late minister made excellent arrangements with his hard work and honesty, he further lauded. “Today, not only this house and parliament, but the whole country lost a great scholar, mufti, and thinker,” he added. Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif instructed the country’s mission in the United Arab Emirates to facilitate the families of Pakistanis who died in a fire incident in Dubai. Sixteen people including three Pakistanis lost their lives after a fire broke out in their apartment in Dubai. The prime minister expressed grief over the deaths and extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families over the tragedy.

Meanwhile, the prime minister reviewed measures for the stoppage of smuggling of sugar, wheat, flour, and urea from the country and sought a comprehensive strategy to overcome the problem for the long term.

Chairing a high-level meeting, he said the smuggling of essential items outside the country, was not acceptable in any way. He directed that an immediate operation should be launched against the persons involved in the heinous activity of smuggling.

Smuggling was a menace for any society and in the present economic situation, Pakistan could not bear smuggling in any way, he added.

He expressed displeasure at the slow pace of work regarding the end of smuggling and asked for an increase in check posts in the border districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. He ordered immediate action against warehouses involved in hoarding and smuggling and said honest reputable officers should be posted at the international border.

The premier stressed that no pressure should be entertained while removing corrupt officers involved in smuggling and draft legislation for stoppage of smuggling should be presented as soon as possible.

He said anti-smuggling courts should be immediately made effective and functional and number of these courts should be increased. He said the number of highly reputable judges and prosecutors should be increased in the anti-smuggling courts.