ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday said that foreign policy is a federal subject and any proposal from any public figure will be considered by the federal government, as chief minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur has announced to send a delegation for holding talks with Taliban interim government aimed at ending terror incidents in the province.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch’s response comes during her weekly media briefing while answering media queries with regard to the announcement made by Chief Minister Gandapur about his plans to send a delegation to Kabul for holding talks with the Taliban regime to take action against terrorist outfit responsible for terror attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
“Foreign policy is a federal subject and it is the prerogative of the government of Pakistan to pursue its foreign policy. Any proposal that comes from any public figure in Pakistan will be considered by the government of Pakistan and decisions are taken in Pakistan’s national interest,” Baloch said.
She further stated that Pakistani officials and nationals can visit any foreign country as private individual, adding that and the government of Pakistan does not provide them directions when they undertake these private visits.
“With regards to any official engagement, we believe these issues are premature for us to comment on. When such proposals come before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only then we will be able to comment on them,” she said in response to another query when asked further on the chief minister’s plans for holding talks with Kabul.
Commenting on Chief Minister Gandapur’s statement in the National Assembly on Thursday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has termed the statement as an “attack on the Federation”, adding: “This is a dangerous path that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa leadership is walking, one that could have severe consequences for their own party.”
Responding to another question about the renewed border clashes between the security forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the spokesperson confirmed the latest border tension, saying that the September 7 was an unprovoked attack on Pakistani check posts from across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“Pakistani forces responded. We believe that the attacks across the international border are not acceptable. Pakistan will continue to defend itself from any attacks,” she added.
When asked about the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asia, Donald Lu’s ongoing official visit to India and Bangladesh skipping Pakistan, she said that Pakistan and the US have several channels of communication and officials from the United States visit Pakistan on a frequent basis.
“These visits are determined by the priorities of two countries to hold talks. So I do not understand why Pakistan should comment on relations with third countries,” she added.
Asked whether India has officially communicated to Pakistan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be attending the Heads of Government meeting of the SCO being hosted by Pakistan in October, Baloch said that the prime minister of Pakistan has extended invitations to the Heads of government of all SCO member states.
“At this point, I’m not aware of any communication from the Indian government regarding their representation,” she added.
About the 23rd Conference of Ministers of Trade of SCO which is being held in Islamabad on Thursday, she said that the SCO trade meeting is being attended by ministers or deputy minister or vice-minister level officials.
This includes the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan; the Deputy Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan; the first Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belarus; the Deputy Minister of Industries and Mining and Trade of Iran; the Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic; the Vice Minister of Commerce and Industry of India who is attending virtually; the Vice Minister on National Economy of Kazakhstan, who’s also attending virtually; the Vice Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China; and Director of the Department for Multilateral Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, she added.
Commenting on Indian Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent statement about Kashmiri people, she said that Pakistan has always stood for the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their right to live in freedom and dignity.
“Kashmiris are our brothers and sisters who have been under Indian subjugation for the last several decades…India’s attempts to portray its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir as an internal matter, and its claims of considering Kashmiris as its own ring hollow, in the face of the harsh reality of the situation in IIOJK and the decades long suppression of the Kashmiri people,” she added.
Responding to another query about Pakistan-China trade ties, she said that Pakistan and China have committed themselves to enhance bilateral trade and economic ties, including in the domain of agriculture.
“We are encouraged with the recent trends of enhanced trade and hope that trade in agriculture will continue to increase,” she added.
When her comments were sought on Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid’s statement with regard to starting of work on TAPI gas pipeline project, she said that TAPI Project is important for the energy security of Pakistan.
“It is an important project that offers numerous opportunities for our region. Pakistan will continue to work with its partners for development of the project,” she said.
“We have noted this development. The recent development is being evaluated by the concerned department. Pakistan remains committed to the project,” she further stated.
On the Australian government’s request to cooperate in the removal of Hasan Askari from ECL who was court martialed in 2020, she said that placement of an individual on the Exit Control list is the sovereign decision of Pakistan and that decision rests with the Ministry of Interior.
On the Israeli attacks in Syria, she voiced Pakistan’s strong condemnations of the Israeli blatant aggression targeting several areas in Syria on 8 September, which resulted in several deaths.
“Pakistan considers these attacks as a dangerous provocation and a violation of international law with the seeds for further escalation in the region. These attacks are an unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Syria and undermine its stability and security. Pakistan calls on the international community to prevent Israel from its adventurism in the region that is endangering the security of countries in the region,” she added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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