Pakistan said on Monday expulsion of diplomats by Pakistan and India on August 5 should not derail the peace process, as it is in the interest of both Pakistan and India, this region and the world at large.
Responding to a volley of questions regarding present state of peace process, foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said recent diplomatic row with India should not undermine bilateral relations since the two countries have reiterated that various initiatives that were underway as part of the composite dialogue will continue and nothing will be dropped.
She said India after postponing foreign secretaries talks had informed Pakistan of fixing new dates for the meeting to review the third round of composite dialogue, but it has not done so yet.
The spokesperson emphasised: "The peace process should not be seen as a concession one party is making to the other; rather it is vital for economic development in this region."
She recalled the joint statement of Pakistan and India issued at the conclusion of President Musharraf's visit to New Delhi on April 18, 2005 wherein the leadership of both the countries pledged they would not allow terrorist acts in either country to impede the peace process.
"Our position has been very clear right from the beginning: we do not see any linkage between terrorist acts in India or in Pakistan and the peace process and we have repeatedly said they have no connection as they are two separate matters," she added. The spokesperson said: "We have seen some statements from the Indian leadership as well that the peace process has not been derailed and it will continue."
She said: "Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in Dhaka on the sidelines of the Saarc ministerial meeting and they agreed various processes that were underway between the two countries as part of the peace process will continue and nothing will be thrown out."
"We are committed to every agreement, every understanding that we had between our two countries, including Simla agreement and we are not selective," she added.
US CONGRESS CLEARS F-16 SALE: Tasnim said the US Congress has cleared the US government's proposal to sell more than 40 F-16 aircraft to Pakistan without any extraordinary precondition.
However, defence sale agreement everywhere contains a standard clause which, in a way, ensures there is no transfer of technology to a third country, she added.
She said now that the US Congress has cleared the deal, the US government will send a letter of offer to Pakistan and we will send a letter of acceptance after negotiations.
"We have not been conveyed any requirement for extraordinary security arrangement against transfer of F-16 technology to a third country except for the normal standard clause in the defence sale agreements nor shall we accept any clause that affects our sovereignty," she added.
In reply to a question she made it clear there is absolutely no US pressure on Pakistan with regard to the construction of Khushab nuclear reactor.
AFGHANISTAN: About bringing normalcy in strife-ridden Afghanistan, the spokesperson said Pakistan has done more than any other country and deployed 80 thousand troops on its borders with Afghanistan to stop cross-border movements.
She said: "Every one has to do more to bring about normalcy in Afghanistan and help the Afghan people to have secure and normal life but the international community has failed in the reconstruction work of the ravaged country."
She said in addition to law and order situation in Afghanistan, there are other problems like drug control and the return of the Afghan refugees to their homes, and the international community must do more to settle refugees.
LEBANON: The spokesperson said Pakistan would consider participating in the peace-keeping force in Lebanon if it is sanctioned by the UN Security Council and is accepted by Lebanon.
"We have a long history of making troop contributions to the UN mandated peace keeping missions but only after fulfilment of these two elements," she pointed out.
She said: "As soon as the crisis started Pakistan repeatedly called upon the international community to act quickly and move swiftly to stop Israeli aggression in Lebanon and despite lapse of a considerable time, we do hope the international community would act to stop carnage in Lebanon and put an end to Israeli aggression."
About efforts of the OIC to stop Israeli aggression, she said the declaration and statements of leaders at summit level executive committee of the OIC at Kuala Lumpur are very focused and contain a number of elements.
With regard to US Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice's reported remarks about redrawing the map of the Middle East, she said: "I have not seen that statement, if indeed it was made, but we know about US greater Middle East initiative and it involves a number of countries and under this initiative the US had inter-action with Pakistan as well and we have participated in some of the meetings, which basically dealt with economic co-operation, and greater trade opportunities.
Comments
Comments are closed.