PM will not step down, assemblies will not be dissolved: FM

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - Rejecting the demands of alliance of opposition parties, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi emphatically stated that PM Imran Khan will not step down and that the assemblies will not be dissolved.

Addressing a news conference, the foreign minister has categorically rejected the demands of alliance of opposition parties saying these are undemocratic and unconstitutional. "The country cannot be run on the whims of somebody," he added.

FM Qureshi said the incumbent government enjoys the mandate of the people and secured millions of votes in the 2018 general elections. He regretted that the opposition parties are giving priority to their personal interests over the national interests. "We are ready for talks on electoral reforms and the issues of inflation and provincial autonomy and the NFC," he added.  

Referring to the stance of opposition parties on dialogue, the Foreign Minister reminded that doors of negotiations in politics are never shut. He said the posture of the opposition parties may damage the democracy.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the alliance of opposition parties has failed to mobilize the public support. He said the people showed their indifference to the Lahore gathering which was a meaningless activity as it carried no new announcement.

The foreign minister said there is no consensus amongst the PDM over the issue of resignations from the assemblies and the Long March.  He said the policy of PPP is ambiguous as the decisions of the party are being taken not by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari but by former president Asif Ali Zardari.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the PML-N is also divided on the issue of resignations. He said there is a clear between the groups of Shahbaz Sharif and that of Maryam Nawaz.