Rescuing his ‘friend’ amidst the controversy surrounding Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for visiting Pakistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan came to Sidhu’s defence on Tuesday calling him the “Ambassador of Peace”, reported NDTV.
Khan’s tweets come after Sidhu addressed a press conference justifying his Islamabad visit for the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan.
Khan defended his cricketer friend and said those who are attacking him are doing a “disservice to peace in the subcontinent”. His tweet read, “I want to thank Sidhu for coming to Pakistan for my oath taking. He was an ambassador of peace & was given amazing love & affection by ppl of Pakistan. Those in India who targeted him are doing a gt disservice to peace in the subcontinent – without peace our ppl cannot progress.”
Khan used this opportunity to express his support of peace between the two countries through dialogue. Pakistan PM tweeted, “To move forward Pakistan and India must dialogue and resolve their conflicts incl Kashmir: The best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue and start trading.”
Sidhu has become a target of BJP and some members of his own party after he was seen embracing Pakistani army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. He was also seen sitting next to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) President Masood Khan.
In the press conference, Sidhu defended himself on both the issues.On sitting next to PoK Chief, he said, “My seat was changed at the last minute. I was told just five minutes before ceremony that I was to be seated on front row. I sat wherever they made me sit,” quoted NDTV.
He averred that his visit was “not about politics” but an invite from a friend. He stated that peace gestures have been made by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the latter making an impromptu trip to Lahore in 2015 on the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s birthday. He said, “No one is questioning PM Modi’s patriotism,” quoted NDTV.
On hugging Pakistan Army Chief Bajwa, Sidhu dismissed it as an “emotional” response. NDTV quoted him as saying, “The Pak Army chief said they were making efforts to open a corridor from India’s Dera Baba Nanak to the historic Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. What followed was an emotional moment.”
Addressing the remarks made by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who had earlier slammed Sidhu for his visit, Sidhu said, “I was criticised by the Captain, by top Congress leaders. It is not necessary that if the Captain has spoken against me, I should too.”
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra lashed out at Sidhu and demanded an answer from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. NDTV quoted Patra as saying, “We want an explanation not from Navjot Sidhu but Rahul Gandhi. What is happening, Rahul Gandhi? Are you opening a Pakistan desk?”