Economics is on our side, stated Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz during a press briefing to editors and senior anchors at the Foreign Office. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s agreement with Iran and Afghanistan to develop Chahbahar as an alternate port to Gwadar would have limited success as economics is on our side, Aziz elaborated.
Pakistan has adopted a principled stance with India, the Advisor stated, and the focus at present is on containment of tensions and no untoward incident on the Line of Control. India acknowledges Pakistan''s positive contribution to the Pathankot investigation; however, the Advisor stated that he is unsure of when comprehensive bilateral dialogue between the two countries will recommence. "Our stance remains principled - we want dialogue on all issues and not just on the one issue," he said.
"We were prepared to submit our application for the Nuclear Supplier''s Group (NSG) membership and submitted our request four days after India. In 2008 the then government took no notice when India was granted an exemption from the requirement adopted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in 1992 banning nuclear cooperation with any state that had not accepted IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) comprehensive safeguards. That move allowed India to engage in nuclear trade with NSG members. Events later proved that was a wrong decision as India then began a nuclear arms race. China and Turkey were opposing India''s application from the beginning on the grounds that NPT must be signed first and there should be parity between Pakistan and India however four more countries opposed India''s entry recently.
Pakistan has shared the dossier on Yadav''s activities in Pakistan with the United Nations and the United States however he had a network and once the investigation is complete then legal action will be initiated, the Advisor stated. Acknowledging that India is a big market and has an exportable surplus yet "our historical relations with Middle Eastern and other Muslim countries cannot be undermined as a consequence of one visit by Modi", he stated. We are doing well internationally, Aziz said, as out of 18 elections in the international fora we have won 17.
Strategic dialogue with the United States is smooth and there are six working groups whose progress is as per schedule, Sartaj Aziz stated. However the US has been informed that we will not compromise on the nuclear issue, the Advisor noted and added that Pakistan and the US objectives with respect to bringing peace to Afghanistan are the same however the difference is in timing and sequencing. The US realises Pakistan has a role in the region and has stated that its relations with India are not at Pakistan''s cost. He reiterated the country''s stated stance that "we question the drone strike that killed Mullah Mansour because the attack was 3 days after the Quadrilateral Co-operative Group during which it was agreed to give peace a chance. So what happened which led the US to violate that commitment and launch a drone strike against Mullah Mansour that killed him?"
Pakistan is working towards finding an alternative to F16s and talks are under way with Russia and China (JF 20) but it is too early to tell yet, Aziz stated. Aziz also acknowledged that Afghan peace is important for Pakistan or else there is a spillover of violence into Pakistan. "Our biggest challenge remains our counter terrorism policy and its effectiveness can be gauged from the 70 to 80 percent reduction in terror attacks in the country," Aziz said adding that the reason for this marked reduction is that the national action plan is being implemented; however we need to over-manage our borders instead of semi managing them, he said. "The border cannot be fenced and we cannot manage the entire border however 4 to 5 entry points constitute 80 to 90 percent of the traffic on our borders with Afghanistan," he said and added that Afghanistan prefers lose borders. At present we are focused on patrolling Torkham and later Angoor Adda but Pakistan needs to better manage the movement of people and goods (smugglers).
"We want the refugees to return and are talking to UNHCR to set up centres for the return of the Afghan refugees to Afghanistan," he said adding that the Durand Line is internationally recognised though some Afghan elements raise the issue for domestic political reasons.
Pakistan is fully committed to the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and though there are still sanctions against dollar transactions yet Euro transactions can proceed; but Pakistan under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will construct a pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshab and once constructed there will only be 80 kms to the Iranian border so we are working towards the realisation of the Iran pipeline, he contended.
The government has its full focus on the CPEC and there are several detractors but the effort is to counter their negativity. Foreign policy implications are not immediate, Aziz said, but long term and insisted that the government''s policies are in the right direction. "We have been in government for three years and we have better relations with countries around the world", he maintained. Foreign policy must reflect domestic unity and the media should support the government on this issue, the Advisor urged the media.
When asked if it was the Foreign Office dictating the country''s foreign policy or the establishment Sartaj Aziz stated that the army had been in government for 35 years and had the capacity. Interacting and co-ordinating with all relevant national institutions ensures the success of any endeavour, he stated and maintained that counter terrorism efforts are succeeding because there is a national consensus.
Lobbyists are not a substitute for active diplomacy and our trained Foreign Office staff is capable but "we recognize that we need image building and so we will hire lobbyists in the US," he stated. The major thrust of the press conference was to dilute the perception that Pakistan is isolated, and the list of achievements of the Sharif administration as cited by the Advisor ranged from the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the two major energy import projects from Central Asia - CASA 1000 and Tapi - membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an active OIC/ECO diplomacy, GSP Plus from the European Union, India, US, Latin America and Africa and even the Quadrilateral Co-operative Group meeting. He added that Pakistan is focused on exporting skilled manpower.
Sartaj Aziz was flanked by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Afairs Tariq Fatemi and Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary Secretary Foreign Affairs on his left and the Minister for Information and his Secretary were seated on his right. The lefties remained silent throughout the meeting while those on the right tasked themselves to determine the order of questions. While the Minister for Information remained silent except for one facetious remark his Secretary was observed to closely monitor his changing expressions at the queries raised during the press briefing.
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