ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office said on Thursday that the government of Pakistan has assured the diplomatic corps of foolproof security following certain foreign missions issued new security advisories to their nationals amid possible terrorist attacks.
Speaking at her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies had the full capacity to ensure safety and security of the people as well as the diplomatic missions.
She said the diplomatic corps had also been briefed about the security measures undertaken to ensure their safety and security.
Responding to a question about Afghanistan, she said Pakistan was engaged with the Afghan authorities on all issues, including border management, security of diplomats and missions in Afghanistan and terrorism.
She said Afghanistan had given certain assurances and “we hope the promises made will be honoured.” She said Pakistan had consistently expressed its desire to see a peaceful, prosperous, stable and connected Afghanistan. “We wish that Afghanistan emerges as a trade and energy-connectivity conduit to our region,” she added.
Asked whether Pakistan was revisiting its policy towards Afghanistan as has been indicated by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, she said: “No policy in the world remains static. Policies remain under review.”
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At this point, she added that it was important to continue to engage to find solutions, required for peace within Pakistan and peace along the Pak-Afghan border, for the protection of our diplomats and diplomatic mission. “So, we need to engage and this engagement is ongoing,” she added.
Responding to a query, she said Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was a comprehensive bilateral mechanism that took place on regular basis.
She said the last meeting took place in November 2021 in Moscow and the next meeting would take place in Pakistan. Through that mechanism, she added that both sides hold meaningful dialogues on substantive and broad-based issues, mutual cooperation including trade, investment, industries, railways and energy. “Indeed, it would be a good opportunity for both sides to further explore and consolidate cooperation in all areas of mutual interest,” she added.
Highlighting the Year-End Review, she said Pakistan continued to pursue a policy of peaceful neighbourhood, based on mutual respect and sovereign equality, with all countries of the South Asia region.
About Pakistan’s relations with India, she said Pakistan consistently maintained that bilateral relations could not fully normalise until the resolution of the outstanding disputes, especially the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
She, however, said that a Hindutva-inspired nationalist government in India continued to act as a regional bully and created hurdles in the development of normal bilateral relations. She said suppression of minorities and the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was a matter of great concern for Pakistan. She said Pakistan would continue to make all possible efforts for the settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
To a question, he said Pakistan wanted India to end its suppression in the IIOJK and desist from supporting terrorist activities inside Pakistan. She said Pakistan was interested in peace and dialogue and it was up to the Indian authorities to take a responsible position to improve relations.
About Pakistan’s relations with other South Asian countries Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, she said Pakistan was keen to strengthen the existing multifaceted cooperation with those countries. In this context, Pakistan’s foreign minister held important meetings with his counterparts of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on the sidelines of important multilateral events and conferences.
About Pakistan-US relations, the spokesperson said a positive momentum in the bilateral ties could be witnessed, especially with the visits of Foreign Minister Bilawal. She said that a Senate-confirmed ambassador was appointed by the United States to Pakistan after four years.
“The United States agreed to our long-standing request for provision of military hardware,” she said. She also expressed the confidence that “de-hyphenation” of relations would further contribute to strengthening of bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US.
To a question about Foreign Minister’s visits abroad, she said those tours were a demonstration of international community’s interest to engage with Pakistan and to develop understanding on a range of issues.
She said Pakistan was also very interested in expanding and strengthening its friendship around the world. “With the enhanced interactions, visits and exchanges, we can strengthen our friendship, cooperation and dialogue with the international community,” she added.
To another query, she said that a number of countries, including Belgium, China, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, UAE, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Uzbekistan, as well as some multilateral financial institutions and the United Nations came forward and extended humanitarian assistance to the flood-affected people of Pakistan.
About Pakistan-Europe relations, she said Pakistan continued to cooperate and engage with its partners in the continent on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. “Our focus is to develop deeper economic collaboration, cooperate to confront climate change and find opportunities in higher education and employment,” she said. She said Pakistan was also engaged in discussions with the EU on extension of GSP Plus programme and on green partnerships for climate change.
About Pakistan’s relations with African nations, she said that ties with Africa were seeing a positive trend in terms of bilateral trade and political, parliamentary, military and security cooperation. She said Pakistan opened new missions in Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Uganda, and Ghana, while Ethiopia opened its resident Embassy in Islamabad.
“Our bilateral trade and business-to-business relations with Africa over the last six months have also registered record increases. Similarly, the remittances from Africa have reached a high of over $400 million,” she said.
She said PIA and Ethiopian Airline agreed for code-sharing which would directly connect Karachi with Addis Ababa.
Talking about Pakistan’s achievements on the diplomatic fronts over the year, she said Pakistan managed to come out of the FATF grey list in October that year, adding the establishment of Fund for Loss and Damage at COP27 for developing countries was another significant achievement of Pakistan.
“Pakistan follows a policy of enhanced engagements with its close partners and friends,” she said, adding Pakistan’s traditional partnerships with China, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic world had further strengthened. She said those relationships were based on mutual trust and friendship and characterised by a tradition of robust dialogue and exchange of bilateral visits.
Commenting on Pakistan’s relations with the Central Asian Republics, she said Islamabad had developed close understandings with those countries to enhance regional connectivity and cooperation in energy, transport and infrastructure.
Responding to a question about the cipher controversy, she said the issue had been debated and closed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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