Arrests of former military officers: Pakistan does not welcome comments from any foreign govt: FO

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) said on Friday that Pakistan does not welcome comments from any foreign government on the recent arrests of former military officers, including ex-ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (retired), after Pentagon termed the move as the country’s internal matter.

FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was responding to a question during her weekly media briefing when her comment was sought on the statements by spokesperson of Pentagon Major General Patrick Ryder and its Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh in which the duo had termed the recent arrests of the former military officers as Pakistan’s internal matter.

“I do not wish to welcome a statement or lack thereof which was not even expected from a foreign government. A foreign government, as we have said on multiple occasions, need not comment on the domestic affairs of Pakistan. So if a government refrains from making a statement, they are doing the right thing and the Government of Pakistan does not need to welcome that,” Baloch said.

US responds to arrest of military officers

The comments follow the recent announcements from Pakistan military’s media wing regarding the detention of former ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (retired), and three other retired officers under the charges of corruption and misuse of authority.

In response to another query about Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, Baloch said that Pakistan has repeatedly called for an immediate end to the genocide of the Palestinian people, and in that context it has always welcomed any initiative that may lead to peace, dialogue and resolution of the current situation where Palestinians continue to be under attack by the Israeli occupation forces.

She; however, refrained from making a direct comment on the negotiations in Doha for not being a party to the talks. “Pakistan is not a party to the negotiations. So, we are not in a position to add further or share the details of these talks,” she added.

She also strongly denounced the storming of Al-Aqsa mosque by hundreds of extremist settlers led by office bearers of Israeli occupation authorities. “Desecration of one of Islam’s holiest sites and obstruction to the rights of worshippers have deeply hurt the sentiments of Muslims worldwide. This act is a violation of Geneva Convention and blatant disregard of multiple UNSC resolutions,” she added.

She urged the international community, especially the UN Security Council to take immediate action to end the serious and repeated transgressions against the sanctity of holy sites in Jerusalem, protect the Islamic character of Al-Aqsa and ensure the freedom of worship of the Palestinian people.

When her response was sought on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, she said that Pakistan continues to see it with concerns the ongoing hostilities and reiterated Pakistan’s call for a peaceful settlement of the dispute. “We urge all parties to take action towards that end,” she added.

Responding to another query about allegations by Sheikh Hasina’s party with regard to Pakistan’s alleged role in ousting the former Bangladeshi prime minister, she categorically rejected these allegations. “There is absolutely no truth to such allegations. Pakistan believes that the people of Bangladesh have the capacity to settle their own affairs and determine their future without any foreign intervention and unsolicited advice from outsiders. The people of Bangladesh will continue to have our best wishes,” she added.

When asked whether Pakistan follow the footsteps of South Africa following Turkiye also expressed its support to the case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people, she said that Pakistan has supported the case moved by South Africa and the ICJ regarding the Israeli violation of the Genocide Convention.

In that respect, she added that Pakistan also welcomes the statement made by Turkiye to support this case. “At this point, we have nothing to add further with respect to this particular case,” she added.

To another question about Iran-Israel tension, she said that Pakistan is deeply concerned at the recent developments in the Middle East that is a result of the illegal acts by Israel against the Palestinians and its adventurism against its neighbours and countries in the region.

She said that Pakistan also support the statement by the OIC which called for holding Israel accountable for its crime of assassinating the political head of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and that Iran has the right to defend itself. “We believe that it’s the responsible of the United Nations under international law to ensure that there is peace in the region and that Israel is held accountable for its acts,” she added.

To another question, she said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have functional diplomatic missions and there is robust exchange of communications on all aspects of ties between the two countries.

With regard to the Taliban anniversary of the takeover of Afghanistan, she said that the government of Pakistan participated in the event organised by the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad which was participated by Minister for Housing Riaz Pirzada and Pakistan special representative on Afghanistan Asif Durrani. “This participation reflects the culture that both Pakistan and Afghanistan accept each other’s invitations and join each other’s celebrations,” she added.

To another question about the recently revised visa guidelines for the National Assembly Secretariat and Senate Secretariat, she confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revised its guidelines for issuance of introductory letters to officials.

She said that there are many factors behind it, including the misuse of the introductory letters by government officials. “We hope that with these new guidelines, this practice of misuse of introductory letters would be discouraged,” she added.

When asked about the recent Afghan firing on Torkham border, she regretted the incident saying Pakistani forces responded appropriately in self-defence.

She urged the Afghan authorities to exercise restraint and avoid unprovoked acts on Pakistan-Afghanistan border. She said the Afghan authorities must understand that Pakistani forces will always defend its territory. She said we remain ready to resolve any misunderstanding through diplomatic channels.

She said that Pakistan has consistently raised its concerns about the presence of terrorist hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. She said Pakistan expects the Afghan authorities to take effective and robust action against the terrorist groups. She added that terror attacks have considerably increased in the recent months and terror outfits stationed in Afghanistan are behind terrorism in Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024