Pakistan has called for joint efforts by Pakistan and India to address their disputes, especially that of occupied Kashmir that also required the participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
A spokesman of the Foreign Office, Muhammad Naeem Khan voiced the sentiments of the Pakistani government in response to a question at his briefing here on Monday.
He was asked to comment on last Friday's statement of the Indian foreign secretary that a solution of Kashmir did not anticipate adjustment of borders or lines of demarcation.
However, Khan said that the present Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir could not be a boundary between the two countries. He said that the issue is going to be the main topic of discussions when President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meet again at New York during the UN General Assembly session.
The spokesman confirmed that the planned visit of Iranian Chief Negotiator on Nuclear Dialogue, Ali Larijani has been rescheduled. Larijani was to arrive here on Monday on his way back to Tehran from Beijing but it was rescheduled a few hours before its start.
The spokesman said that Larijani was visiting at the suggestion of Tehran to brief Pakistan on the reasons for breakdown of negotiations with the European Union on Iranian nuclear development programme. However, he said the visit will take place soon. Private sources indicated that "soon" could be between next Wednesday and Friday.
When asked if Iran had postponed Larijani's visit in reaction to Pakistan-Israel meeting at Istanbul last week, Naeem Khan said the Foreign Office had not received any official communication that Tehran had adversely reacted to the meeting between Kasuri and Shalom.
He reiterated that Pakistan supported a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue between Iran and the objectors and always insisted that issue should be discussed and resolved within the framework of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Pakistan, he said, opposed application of pressure on Iran in this context and wanted that all parties involved should respect their obligations.
On the question of Palestine, Naeem Khan reiterated that Pakistan wanted the emergence of an independent state of Palestine with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.
He said that Pakistani move in establishing direct contact with Israel would help the Middle East peace process. He told a questioner that Pakistan has consulted all parties to the issue.
Answering a question, Naeem Khan said that the composition of first Pakistani delegation to Palestine was being processed and is expected to take place next month. He declined to say as to who would be leading the delegation by reiterating that its composition was being finalised.
Comments
Comments are closed.