The opposition leader said this while talking to the media here at his chamber in the Parliament House on Tuesday. "Pakistan should revisit its foreign policy, particularly about the US, by sitting together. The government should immediately convene a joint sitting of the Parliament to take it into confidence regarding Pakistan's stance on the statement of Trump," he said.
He said the government and opposition should jointly formulate Pakistan's policy in this regard as it is not an issue relating to any political party or the government but an issue of sovereignty of 220 million people. He said it is an issue of Pakistan, adding, "We should not do any politics on this matter." He termed the language used by Trump as unfortunate. The government should also hold a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) over Trump's tweet regarding Pakistan, he added.
"It is very clear that Pakistan has paid a heavy price of war against terrorism. We provided facilities to the US in war against terrorism in Afghanistan. Pakistan faced a cost of $45 billion for this purpose. The US also did not fulfill its commitment made to Pakistan about Coalition Support Fund. The US only reimbursed $15 billion to Pakistan in the name of Coalition Support Fund," he added.
The opposition leader claimed, "Unfortunately, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government is responsible for what Trump is stating today. If the government had appointed a foreign minister of the country from day one as well as a proper foreign policy had been devised after discussion in the Parliament then such a situation would have not developed. The PPP has always demanded the government to appoint a full-fledged foreign minister. We raised the issue of appointing a foreign minister several times in the Parliament but the government did not fulfill the demand."
Shah also claimed that General Pervez Musharraf (retd) in his tenure of dictatorship secretly fulfilled demands of the US, adding the terrorists of the whole world were brought to Pakistan. Pakistan Army, law enforcement agencies and civilians including women and children sacrificed their lives and even US cannot pay the cost of their sacrifices, he added.
Answering a question, Khursheed Shah said Imran Khan is mentally disturbed and he does not want to give his views over his (Imran's) remarks against Shah. "I challenge Khan if he has any evidence against me, bring it in the Parliament. If he (Imran) hates the Parliament then bring it out of the Parliament, I will reply to it." Answering to another question, Shah said if any NRO is being mulled for Sharif family after Panama Papers case verdict then "we should lock the courts," adding if it happens, it means the courts are only for the poor.