ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office, on Thursday, responded sharply to British Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s recent statement, saying the United Kingdom government may first consider listening to its own citizens calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and fulfil its responsibility as the permanent member of the UN Security Council instead of making direct statements in internal affairs of other countries.
The Foreign Office’s response comes during the weekly media briefing of Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in response to the queries of journalists with regard to the recent statement by the British foreign secretary advising the newly elected government “must work for all Pakistan’s citizens and deliver crucial reforms.”
“If making directive statements on internal affairs of other countries is appropriate then we also believe that the Government of the United Kingdom may first consider listening to its own citizens calling for ceasefire in Gaza and fulfil its responsibility as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,” Baloch said when her response was sought on Cameron’s remarks.
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Responding to another question about the world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory messages to newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, she said that the Indian prime minister’s message through a tweet was one of the several messages of felicitation that were received, or the prime minister of has received, since his assumption of the office and his election as the prime minister. “As you know, the Cabinet formation is yet to take place and once the Cabinet is in place, we will have a direction with regard to the foreign policy and Pakistan’s relations with other countries, including its neighbours. We would then be in a better position to respond to queries on how this will impact Pakistan’s interaction with India in the coming days,” she said.
She said that Pakistan has always stated that it would like to have good relations with all its neighbours, including India. “However, these relations must be based on respect and equality. It is also important that issues of concern to Pakistan, including the support for terrorism, and extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings by India in Pakistan. Kashmir will always be a priority when such engagement takes place,” she added.
When her remarks were sought on the US State Department spokesperson’s remarks about peaceful and productive talks between Pakistan and India, she said that Pakistan has always said that it would welcome mediation by friendly countries. “When such a proposal comes to us formally and only then we will be able to respond,” she added.
Responding to another question about the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, she said that the Cabinet of Pakistan has recently decided to start work on 80 kilometres of the Pakistan-Iran Pipeline. “This is the beginning of the construction of the pipeline and it is in line with our commitment to the Pakistan-Iran Pipeline. And since this pipeline is being constructed inside Pakistani territory, we do not believe there is room for any consultations with any third party at this stage,” she said.
About Pakistan’s application to join the BRICS group, she that Pakistan has expressed its interest in joining BRICS and hopes that BRICS will take a decision in line with its proclaimed objective of inclusive multilateralism. “We hope that an early decision inviting Pakistan to join the BRICS will be reached,” she added.
About Pakistani nationals arrested in the US, she said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the process of confirmation of their nationality, adding that there is a process that includes confirmation of the authenticity of the legal documents, as well as, the biometric information and data that is held with NADRA.
About the incidents of terrorism, she said that Pakistan has repeatedly called on Afghan authorities to take effective measures against terrorists that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security and the terrorist groups which have found hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan are a serious problem which needs to be handled with effective force.
Commenting on Indian Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to Srinagar, she said that the visit of the prime minister to IIOJK seems to be part of India’s efforts to portray normalcy in IIOJK. “We believe that these efforts to project normalcy are a facade and tourism cannot be promoted in a situation where local people are being intimidated and their rights and freedoms are being denied,” she added.
Commenting on the recent statement by Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar blaming Pakistan for SAARC’s dysfunctionality, she said that Pakistan believes that there is only one country and that is India which is hindering the development of SAARC.
“It is the hurdle in the success of SAARC and any kind of regional cooperation. Its belligerent posture towards its neighbours has paralyzed regional cooperation, including SAARC,” she said, adding that it was India that scuttled the 19th SAARC Summit, scheduled to take place in Pakistan in 2016.
She further stated that India has made every effort to make SAARC dysfunctional, adding that Pakistan has said time and again that India’s negative posture in the region is a threat not just to Pakistan but to other countries in South Asia.
“We have also expressed our concerns regarding terrorism emanating from India and Indian-sponsored terrorist activities inside Pakistan. We hope that impediments to regional cooperation by India in SAARC will be removed so that SAARC can move ahead on a path of regional cooperation,” she added. On Gaza’s situation, she said that the UN Security Council is mandated under the UN charter to play its role in peace and security and can bring an end to Israel’s illegal aggression against the people of Gaza and the genocide that is taking place there.
“We have been engaged with members of the United Nations Security Council and we have urged them to play their part in bringing an end to this atrocity,” she said. As far as the humanitarian situation in Gaza is concerned, she said that Pakistan has always called for the provision of unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
She further stated that Pakistan welcomes the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Jeddah on Wednesday and supports its strong condemnation of the unprecedented Israeli aggression against civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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