News
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Qureshi cancels Australian trip to attend NA session
By Sajjad Malik
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has cancelled this week’s scheduled trip to Australia so that he can attend the National Assembly session beginning from tomorrow (Thursday).
Sources said the decision had been made keeping in view the increasing criticism from the opposition regarding the continuous absence of the minister from the parliament. Qureshi is supposed to be present in the NA sessions to respond to numerous queries about foreign policy and other related matters. However, the minister can not attend a number of sessions due to his extended tours abroad. Parliamentarians from the other side of the aisle criticised him in the last session, saying that he had last attended the session to deliver a speech in defence of the Kerry-Lugar Bill.
The foreign minister phoned his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith and expressed regrets on the cancellation of the visit.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk