ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office on Thursday explained that it had never announced the dates of the now postponed visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to Pakistan and that trip is on the cards which will take place on mutually-agreed dates.
Speaking at her maiden weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit was of high importance for Pakistan and a number of agreements would be signed once the new dates of his trip were finalised.
“We had neither announced cancelation nor the dates of the visit. The [new] dates are being firmed up in consultation with the Saudi side. For us, this visit is of great importance because this will be his first visit to Pakistan after assuming the office as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” she said.
She said they were expecting the second meeting of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council and a number of agreements would be signed. “The visit is on the cards and it will take place on the mutually-agreed dates,” she said in response to various queries with regard to the public statements by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, interior minister and finance minister who had reportedly confirmed the date as November 21 before it got postponed on November 12.
To another question, she said Pakistan’s foreign policy was the “policy of engagement”, adding that Pakistan wanted to strengthen and consolidate its relations with its traditional partners and friends that included China, countries from the Middle East, and the Islamic bloc.
“We are in a very good place and revitalising our relations with the United States. Our engagements with the European Union are expanding and at the same time we are moving very confidently and developing our relations with countries in East Asia, Africa and Latin America,” she said.
She stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif led an official delegation to participate in COP-27 World Leaders Summit from 6-8 November 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh where he also co-chaired with prime ministers of Norway and Egypt, a High-Level Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities.
She added that the prime minister attended the Middle East Green Initiative Summit chaired by Saudi Arabia and an event on Green Shield against Climate Risk for loss and damages support which was co-hosted by the German Chancellor and the President of Ghana.
During these events, she added, the prime minister briefed the participants on the state of flood-hit areas of Pakistan and the government’s actions for rehabilitation and reconstruction as well as reiterating the need for the international community for solidarity and cooperation in mitigating the impact of climate change on developing countries including Pakistan.
She said the prime minister held meetings with the UN Secretary General, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the German Chancellor, Crown Princes of Bahrain and Kuwait, the presidents of Estonia, Tajikistan, Iraq, UAE and the European Council, prime ministers of Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Lebanon and the Vice President of Indonesia as well as the Secretary General of Arab League and the Managing Director of IMF interacted with the prime minister.
She further stated that foreign minister held meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, France and the United Kingdom, besides holding meetings with Administrator of UNDP and Special Presidential Envoy of the US President on Climate.
“The visit gave Pakistan an opportunity to highlight the climate-induced flood catastrophe in Pakistan on the impact of climate change particularly being faced by the developing countries,” she added.
The spokesperson also welcomed the positive development with regard to the United Kingdom’s removal of Pakistan from its list of “High-Risk Third Countries”. The step has been taken in accordance with the decision taken by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 21 October 2022, she added.
She stated that the Foreign, Common wealth and Development Office recognised the progress made by Pakistan to improve money laundering and terrorist financing controls. “We welcome this step and hope that other countries would also follow and recognize Pakistan’s efforts in this context,” she added.
Commenting on the Indian media reports quoting director general International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) she said the firing of BrahMos nuclear-capable missile into Pakistani territory from India on 9 March 2022 was not a cause of any specific concern for the IAEA.
“We have termed this report as a disingenuous attempt by the Indian sponsored media to absolve India of its irresponsible nuclear behavior by directing this question at the Director General of IAEA. We believe that DG IAEA’s statement should have been qualified by stating that IAEA has no mandate on such matters,” she added.
She stated that the director general’s response cannot be purposely misinterpreted to trivialize the incident of a nuclear-capable BrahMos missile fire with grave implications for regional and global security.
“India needs to explain several repeated incidents of nuclear and radioactive material theft and illicit trafficking that are more relevant to the IAEA mandate. These critical questions which remain unanswered should continue to be a concern for the international community,” she added.
On the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), she stated that Pakistan wished to remind the world that the only durable solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute lied in holding a free and impartial plebiscite as espoused in relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to enable the people of Kashmir to exercise their right of self-determination.
“The world must speak with one voice to urge India to desist from altering the demographics of IIOJK through coercion and by unilateral and illegal means. It must immediately undo all subsequent legal and administrative measures that aim to rob the Kashmiri people of the democratic majority and their ethnic identity,” she added.
She said Pakistan would always extend its full support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for freedom from 75 years of brutal Indian oppression.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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