FO declares 'a moment of pride'

The Foreign Office on Thursday declared 'a moment of pride' for Pakistani nation by 'defeating India on military, diplomatic and political domains' in the post-Pulwama events involving the two nuclear neighbours in a massive standoff. Speaking at his weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said that the tension between the two countries has de-escalated significantly. He reiterated Pakistan's desire to engage in dialogue with India on all outstanding issues with Kashmir being the central point.
"Our desire is peace and dialogue, but this should not be construed as our weakness. If war is imposed against us, we will respond in the similar way that the entire world saw," he said while referring to the recent confrontation between the two countries when Pakistan shot down two Indian jets on February 27 after hitting six targets across the Line of Control (LoC) in response to India's failed air strikes in Balakot a day earlier.
"It is a moment of pride for the whole nation, as we have defeated India in all the domains - military, diplomatic and political," he said, adding that Pakistan has achieved its diplomatic objectives following India resorted to baseless allegations in the aftermath of the Pulwma attack in which more than 40 Indian paramilitary troops were killed.
To a question about inviting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the recent OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Abu Dhabi, he said that Pakistan has already shared its concerns on invitation to Swaraj which, he stated, was not extended by the OCI but by the UAE being the host country.
Despite Foreign Minister Qureshi's absence in the inaugural session and a low-level delegation, he said, all the resolutions which condemned the Indian aggression against Pakistan and the Indian atrocities and human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir were passed unanimously in the presence of Indian external affairs minister.
Commenting on the statement of the UAE foreign minister that 'India will one day become a member of the OIC,' the spokesperson said that India's presence in the recent OIC meeting was violation of the OIC charter, adding that Pakistan is the founding member of the OIC and the forum was created purely keeping in view the issues faced by Muslim Ummah.
"We are in touch with the UAE and hopefully the contacts will bring positive results," he remarked. About the efforts by various countries to de-escalate the tensions between Pakistan and India, he said that the 'friendly countries' wanted to de-escalate the tension through 'private diplomacy' and the US played an important role, besides various other countries.
He said that Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs was also visiting the country in this regard who would also exchange views in his meeting with Pakistani leadership on issues of mutual interests and the regional peace and security situation.
To another question about the 'dossier' handed over by Indian side on the alleged involvement of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama attack, the spokesman said, "We have received the 'dossier' and are examining it. We will give a reply [to India] soon."
On the Kartarpur Corridor, the spokesperson said that Pakistan had proposed that the country's delegation is ready to proceed to New Delhi on March 14 to finalise the draft agreement which Pakistan has already shared with the Indian side.
However, he said that the Indian side proposed that the meeting should be held in Attari on its side of the border instead of New Delhi. "We have no problem in going to Attari and we are going," Dr Faisal said who will lead Pakistan's delegation to the talks on March 14.
He said that Kartarpur Corridor was a project initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, adding that Pakistan is committed to opening of the corridor to meet the longstanding demand of Sikh community.
About the return visit of the Indian delegation to Islamabad, as agreed earlier between the two sides, to take place on March 28, the spokesperson said: "We desire that they [Indians] should come to Islamabad and become our guests. However, let's see what may come."
When asked whether the United States has officially communicated to Pakistan over the alleged violation of F-16 sales agreement when they were allegedly used to shoot down two planes in the recent confrontation with India, the spokesperson declined to comment, saying that DG ISPR has already spoken on the matter.
"All the queries regarding F-16s should be put to the ISPR being the appropriate forum to respond on the technical information," he stated in response to repeated queries.
The spokesperson also referred to the brutal killing of a Pakistani prisoner, Shakirullah, in an Indian jail, saying that an FIR has been lodged on behalf of the state of Pakistan over Shakirullah's murder, whereas Pakistan had demanded India share the post-mortem report of the deceased inmate.
Condemning the ongoing Indian brutalities in occupied Kashmir, the spokesperson said several people were martyred in different areas of the occupied valley, while several others were taken into custody.
"Pakistan condemns Indian aggression and calls on the world fraternity to play its role to prevent India from these oppressive measures," he added.
About the Indian submarine that attempted to venture into the Pakistani waters, he said that Pakistan Navy traced the Indian submarine and forced it to return, however, no decision has yet been made for a diplomatic action on this issue.