A former foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said here on Tuesday: "I flatly refused to grant diplomatic immunity to Raymond Davis because he was a killer of two innocent Pakistanis and I did not yield to pressure of even President Asif Ali Zardari. It is a fact that President Asif Ali Zardari pressurised me for granting diplomatic immunity to the US national who was a killer of two Pakistanis"
Addressing a press conference, he said that neither the President nor the Prime Minister has capability to meet the internal and external threats and challenges. He said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had started his politics by joining the Majlis-e-Shoora introduced by General Zia-ul-Haq. "It is not correct to link me and Zia-ul- Haq and declare me 'remainder of Zia-ul-Haq'."
Qureshi said it was time to seek fresh mandate from the masses and asked for an unbiased and independent election commission for polls. He said that he had resigned on January 30 when President Zardari forced him to give immunity to Raymond Davis. He noted that he would announce his future plan on November 27 in Ghotki. "I quit the portfolio by myself," he said. "I am not greedy for the ministership".
The former foreign minister demanded early polls, saying that it was time to seek fresh mandate from masses and asked for an independent election commission as the present set-up lacks the ability to solve the issues faced by the country. He said he would make more significant announcements about future course of action on November 27. He said PPP is no longer a party of Benazir Bhutto. "It is now 'Zardari League'." He said he did not want to be part of 'Zardari League' and announced to resign from the party membership. "Zardari buried the politics of Benazir Bhutto along with her," Qureshi regretted, adding that Zardari had deviated from Benazir's vision.
Expressing concern over PPP alliance with PML-Q, he said it is against Charter of Democracy (CoD). Regarding Mansoor Ijaz's allegations against Zardari, he said if there was no substance in these allegations then Zardari should have legal notice taken against it. The Supreme Court should also take notice of the President's letter written to US officials, he said. He claimed he had accepted the position of foreign minister on the insistence of President Zardari, "or rather I was the only one who was not interested to take any such position".
He said that the present rulers had challenged the political vision of Benazir by criticising him. He said that "my intention is very clear while my hands are also clean." He said that it is a crucial time to save Pakistan. "It is not a time to save any individual. Nor it is a time to sit in the parliament. Parliamentarians should come out on in the arena to save the country and to make it a strong and prosperous Pakistan."
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