PM Nawaz, Modi exchange Independence Day felicitations

The Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan on Saturday tendered his resignation over his statements he made in an recent interview with BBC.

“It is matter of pleasure and satisfaction for me as the culprits, who brutally killed and injured more than 300 APS students, have met their fate”, an official statement quoted the prime minister as saying.

Khan’s resignation came after he told the BBC in an interview aired Friday that Islam, head of the military’s powerful spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence, was behind last year’s anti-government rallies organized by cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan and fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadr.

The message comes a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sharif on the occasion of 69th Independence Day of Pakistan, which was celebrated on Friday. “It was part of a conspiracy that differences should be created between the PM and the CoAS to the extent that Nawaz Sharif could be forced to take some action against Gen. Raheel”.

To another question regarding resignations of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) parliamentarians, he said there was a significant development on the issue as talks among Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the MQM and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar were going on.

Relations between Pakistan’s civilian governments and the military have often been tumultuous, with three coups since independence.

Later during the day, the army’s spokesperson General Asim Bajwa also termed any reports about a “tape” as baseless rumours.

Information Minister Pervez Rashid flatly denied this. The release also said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has never heard such an audio tape, nor is he aware of its existence.

While describing about Sharif’s sudden decision to lead the team against West Indies former skipper says, “Just before the World Cup in October 1987, when I was captaining Pakistan, we played a warm-up match against the West Indies at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore”.

The senator had earlier given an interview to the BBC in which he had alleged that the former director general of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) wanted to overthrow the country’s civil and military leadership.

The spokesman added that PM Nawaz had no knowledge of any tape which was presented to him by the minister as claimed.