Pakistan on Friday asked Iran to share evidence on the alleged infiltration of militants from its side of the border for carrying out terrorists activities in the neighbouring country. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told the weekly press briefing that Pakistan believes if Iran has evidence that elements from Pakistan are involved in activities against Iran, they should share it with us.
"Our information is that these incidents took place inside Iranian territory by Iranians and that is corroborated by their own accounts. It is not helpful to externalise problems. We need to focus on eliminating terrorism from our countries," the spokesperson said in response to Iranian Brigadier General's remarks that Iran might consider carrying out attacks inside the Pakistani territory if Pakistan fails in stopping anti-Iran activities on its borders.
She said Pakistan and Iran are neighbours, sharing a long porous border. "We have mechanisms which can investigate such events as was done in the past when the Iranian guards were kidnapped and released inside Iran," she said, adding we are situated in a region which has seen turbulence and we have both been affected by the events in this region.
"We have been victims of terrorism: no one more than Pakistan. We are fighting terrorism and our forces are taking comprehensive and determined action to eliminate it from our soil. In this endeavour, we need co-operation from our neighbours," she added. She said that there may be cross border activities or other transnational crimes like narcotic and drug trafficking. With Iran, we have mechanisms like the border management committee to resolve such issues, she added.
To another query, she said last time when an incident happened inside Iranian territory and some statements were made hinting at the possibility that the terrorists had come from Pakistan or the guards may have been taken to Pakistan, we responded promptly. She said the border management committee met a number of times and there was a visit to the reported site of their abduction inside Iran. "No proof was found that guards were brought to Pakistan. In this case also, the terrorist act happened inside Iran," she said, adding if our help is sought, the border management committee can meet and investigate the matter. She said Pakistan was very clear that it will not allow its territory to be used against any other country.
About the situation on the Line of Control (LoC) and on the working boundary, she said that since first of October, for about 14 days, there was unprovoked firing and shelling by India on the LoC and working boundary. She said 12 civilians were martyred and 52 people were injured.
She pointed out that the Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs addressed a letter to the UN Secretary General and briefings were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for P-5 Ambassadors and for Heads of all the other missions in Islamabad. She said the Advisor's letter was circulated as a UN Security Council document and Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN met UN officials. "Obviously, there has been concern in the international community and it has been expressed in public statements. We remain engaged with the international community," she added.
When asked about her comments on the India's test of the nuclear capable cruise missile, the spokesperson said that Pakistan was against an arms race - conventional or nuclear - in the region. With regards to the missile testing, she said both the countries have a mechanism that whenever two countries test ballistic missiles, they notify each other in the first place as it was part of the confidence-building measures.
To a question regarding some TTP men, including its spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and the reported visit of the IS delegation in the tribal areas, the spokesperson said she had no information that Shahidullah Shahid was in Pakistan. "We cannot confirm if they are meeting people outside Pakistan," she added.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan was focused on across the board action against all kinds of terrorism. On the British parliamentary resolution passed in favour of the Palestinian state, she described it as a positive development, which shows that the international community is now realising the rights of Palestinians to exist as viable independent state in the land which belongs to them. "We welcome the vote in the British parliament," she said, adding that about two weeks ago the new government of Sweden decided to recognise the state of Palestine. About the Ebola virus, she said Pakistan diplomatic and peacekeeping missions abroad, especially in Ebola-hit countries, have been following the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO). She said Pakistan has taken measures to prevent spread of the virus.
Comments
Comments are closed.