Pakistan welcomes Syria ceasefire agreement

Reiterating its principled position of neutrality, impartiality and respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria, Pakistan on Friday welcomed the agreement reached between Russia and United States on cessation of hostilities in the war-torn Syria. "Pakistan welcomes the agreement reached between Russia and the United States for a nation-wide cessation of hostilities to begin in Syria on Saturday, February 27 2016," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said in response to a question.
He stated that Pakistan has always maintained a principled position on Syria based on neutrality, impartiality and respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria. "We, however, remain concerned on the humanitarian crisis and the urgent need to address the refugee crisis," he said, adding that Pakistan also appreciates the efforts of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and sincerely wishes for the success of the agreement. The US and the Russian Federation, as co-chairs of the ISSG, on February 22, 2016 reached the historic agreement on cessation of hostilities in Syria that will come into force from Saturday (today). However, in the joint statement, it was clarified that consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the statements of the ISSG, the cessation of hostilities does not apply to "Daesh", "Jabhat al-Nusra", or other terrorist organisations designated by the UN Security Council.