Minister for Civil Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan highlighted Kashmir issue in a befitting manner, and denial of Indian authorities regarding mediation offer extended to the US president is nothing but a face-saving attempt. Talking to media persons here at Parliament House on Wednesday, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that US President Trump's mediation offer has been appreciated by the Kashmiris across the globe.
The minister said the Prime Minister will be received at New Islamabad International Airport Islamabad at 01:00am on Thursday by only a few cabinet members.
The minister termed it a visit of statesman and said, "For the first time in the history, the US President deemed us as a great nation." He said PM Modi visited the US in 2014 and conducted there a jalsa (political gathering) but he had not been able to gather even 10,000 people and on the other hand Imran Khan managed addressing a gathering of above 22,000 people in Washington DC.
He said this had a huge impact on the meeting between the leadership of the two countries. Calling the visit successful, he said the people, no matter which party they belong to, have appreciated the visit. He said differences lie within the country but outside the country there should be only national interest.
Appreciating the positive comments of Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, he said he supported and endorsed the visit, adding Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should at least adopt this approach for the sake of national interest.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan said accountability process has been started and no one is above the law. He said be it political parties, judiciary, military or any other institution, accountability must be done across the board.
About no-confidence move against Chairman Senate Sadiq Sinjrani, Khan appealed the opposition parties to withdraw it in the best interests of the country. Answering to a question, he said PM Imran Khan set an example by travelling on a commercial flight and everyone should adopt this. He said this move is the outcome of austerity measures.
Answering another question, he said the US technical team visited Pakistan for security clearance and soon direct flight from Pakistan to US will be initiated. He said PIA is under the process of revamping, Open Sky Policy is being revived, and rehabilitation of PIA is under way. He said the federal government has committed to provide resources for the betterment of PIA. The minister said PTI will celebrate 25th July (today) as "Youm-e-Tashakur."