Sardar Ayaz Sadiq | Photo credit: Times Now
Islamabad: In an explosive revelation, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) league, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, claimed on Wednesday that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said during a meeting that if the commander of the wing Abhinandan was not released, India would attack Pakistan at 9 pm. that night. Describing the atmosphere at the meeting that Qureshi attended, Sadiq said that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa‘s’ legs were shaking ‘and he was’ sweating’.
“Ab Abhinandan ki kya baat karte hai? Mujhe yaad hai, Shah Mahmood Qureshi saab uss meeting me at the, jisme prime minister sahab ne aanese inkaar kar dia aur Chief of Staff of the Army tashreef laye. Par kaanp rahe the, paseene maathe pe the. Shah Mahmood saab ne kaha, Minister of Foreign Affairs ne, ke khuda ka vaasta, isko jaane de, kyunke nau baje raat ko Hindustan Pakistan pe attack kar raha hain (You’re talking about Abhinandan. I still remember that Shah Mahmood Qureshi was at that meeting where Prime Minister Imran Khan had refused to attend and the Chief of the Army Staff was present … His feet were shaking … He was sweating … The minister said, for the love of God, let him go, otherwise India will attack Pakistan at 9pm tonight, “said Sadiq.
Sadiq accuses government of ‘kneeling’ under Indian pressure
Sadiq made the explosive revelation in Pakistan’s Parliament earlier in the day. It continued to attack the government for ‘kneeling’ in the face of Indian pressure and releasing Wg Cdr Abhinandan and said that the opposition had supported the government on all issues, including Kashmir and Abhinandan, but was no longer willing to move forward.
Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was held captive by Pakistan during the India-Pakistan clash in February 2019 after his plane was shot down during an air combat. He was released within 60 hours after India exerted diplomatic pressure on Islamabad. Varthaman received an overwhelming welcome at the Wagah-Attari border and became the hero of the February 27 skirmish between the two countries.
