Tag: martyr

  • ‘Not a single part of my brother’s body was left unbroken by TLP’: Policeman’s brother speaks out

    ‘Not a single part of my brother’s body was left unbroken by TLP’: Policeman’s brother speaks out

    A brother of a police officer killed by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) spoke about his pain and blamed Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Usman Buzdar for the brutal death of his brother.

    A video was shared on social media by journalist Zarrar Khuhro, in which the officer’s brother said, “There was not a single part of my brother’s body which was left unbroken by the TLP.”

    “All this is the fault of the government. They [policemen] did not have any weapons, they were provided with sticks just to die,” said the grieving brother.

    “Imran Khan sahib and Usman Buzdar are the ones responsible for all this. They made unarmed citizens go through this ordeal,” he said.

    “They did not spare a single part of my brother’s body, he was completely crushed. The cruelty done by TLP is unmatched,” said the brother.

    “My brother was on duty continuously for four days, he took a break and they caught him. [Two fellow officers were with him] One ran away and they smashed the head of the other and eventually killed my brother,” he added.

    The grieving brother said, “He was completely blue after being beaten up brutally. I want justice from this government. They took away all the weapons from the officers a month before and replaced them with sticks just to get killed in the end.”

    The TLP protest turned violent, killing seven police officers and hundreds more wounded during clashes with TLP demonstrators marching up towards the capital.

  • ‘PM calling OBL a martyr was a slip of the tongue’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Prime Minister Imran Khan referring to slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a “martyr” last year was a “slip of the tongue”, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry clarified in Geo News programme, ‘Jirga’.

    “Pakistan has voted in the UN on the war on terror [against militants], we are a voter on a [UN] list that declared Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda terrorists,” said Fawad Chaudhry.

    “Pakistan has sacrificed the most in the war against terrorism,” Chaudhry added.

    In an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi skipped a question when asked if Osama bin Laden was a martyr. Qureshi paused for a few seconds and then said, “I will let that pass.”

    Senior Afghan journalist Lotfullah Najafizada had originally asked Qureshi about PM Khan calling Osama bin Laden a martyr. The foreign minister responded that the PM was quoted out of context. “Out of context. He was quoted out of context. And, a particular section of the media played it up.

    When asked to comment on why the foreign minister hesitated in answering a question on the premier’s statement on bin Laden, Fawad Chaudhry said Shah Mahmood Qureshi wanted to put the issue behind him and move forward.

    Addressing the National Assembly in June last year, PM Khan recalled how the Americans had conducted an operation in Abbottabad and “killed Osama Bin Laden — martyred him”.

  • ‘Osama Bin Laden is a thing of the past, my focus is on the present and future’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    ‘Osama Bin Laden is a thing of the past, my focus is on the present and future’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday appeared on Geo News programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath” and said that former Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden (OBL) “is a thing of the past and my focus is on the present and the future”.

    Qureshi was asked once more about why it is that he, along with Prime Minister Imran Khan, avoid clarifying whether OBL is a martyr or terrorist.

    “Osama Bin Laden is a thing of the past. I am not concerned with the past. You are lost in the past. My focus is on the present and the future,” said Qureshi.

    Khanzada explained that he was asking for clarity because Pakistan paid a huge price for confusion in the past when it was said that there is a “dual policy with sympathy for terrorists”.

    “I wish to bring you out of the past,” Qureshi said, in response. “My friend, I wish to bring you out of the past. And I tell you, you must think about the future. That future will impact Pakistan, it’s economy and its society. We are absolutely clear on this. We are against terrorism.”

    Qureshi further added that PM Khan takes inspiration from the country’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

    Qureshi was also asked why Pakistan is giving confused statements, when in the backdrop of the US defence secretary’s words about Afghanistan’s soil being used against the US by Daesh or Al-Qaeda in two years’ time, such remarks could come back to haunt us.

    To this Qureshi said: “No, no, no, no. We have great clarity on this. We will never want Afghan or Pakistan soil to be used against a third country, let alone America. I would never want it to be even used against any of our neighbours. Not at all.”

    “We have great clarity. We do not and never will support terrorist organisations and will never want for them to gain such power or importance that they become capable of striking the mainland, some other country, or some coalition partner who have done so much for Afghanistan,” added Qureshi.

    “We will have to admit one thing. The coalition there invested a great deal [in society]. They have invested billions of dollars, established institutions, promoted education, taught them governance. Who will want them to come under attack?” he said.

    In an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi skipped a question when asked if Osama bin Laden was a martyr. Qureshi paused for a few seconds and then said, “I will let that pass.”

  • Fawad says anyone who kills innocents is a terrorist after FM Qureshi skips question on OBL

    Fawad says anyone who kills innocents is a terrorist after FM Qureshi skips question on OBL

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted on Monday that there is no confusion at any level regarding anyone who kills innocents. “That is terrorism and the perpetrators are terrorists. We have suffered pain of terrorism in our own land and can understand pain of all who have lost their loved ones in these cowardly attacks.”

    In an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi skipped a question when asked if Osama bin Laden was a martyr. Qureshi paused for a few seconds and then said, “I will let that pass.”

    Senior Afghan journalist Lotfullah Najafizada had originally asked Qureshi about Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan calling Osama bin Laden a martyr. The foreign minister responded that the PM was quoted out of context. “Out of context. He was quoted out of context. And, a particular section of the media played it up.”

    Qureshi is being criticised for skipping this question and not taking a clear position.

    Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan came under fire for calling al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden a “martyr” during his speech in the National Assembly.