ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday declared that Pakistan’s military establishment is all fully aware of the challenge of terrorism and that it is fully capable of removing the threat.
Speaking at her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that although her ministry will formally make a comment on the US State Department’s recently released annual “country report on terrorism” in due course, the country’s leadership and people are fully aware of the challenge of terrorism and capable of defeating the menace.
“We will comment on the contents of the report in due course. I would, however, like to say that the people of Pakistan, the leadership of Pakistan, and Pakistan's security and military establishment are all fully aware of the challenge that we face in terms of terrorism and we believe that we are fully equipped and have the capacity to defeat this threat,” she said when asked to comment on the “country report on terrorism.”
Referring to the recent tragic incidents of the boats capsizing in Italy and Libya, she said that two Pakistani nationals have lost their lives who were onboard a vessel that capsized off the coast of Italy on 26th January 2023 while 17 Pakistanis have been rescued while two others are still missing.
She added that Pakistan’s embassy in Rome remains actively engaged with the Italian authorities for the welfare of the survivors and transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased.
In a separate tragic incident, she added that thus far, seven Pakistani nationals have perished in a boat wreck near Benghazi, Libya. She said that the embassy of Pakistan in Libya is facilitating the process of identification of the bodies and transportation of the mortal remains to Pakistan with the support of local authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also in contact with the families of the deceased, she added.
She said that Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar participated in the high-level meeting of the Conference on Disarmament held in Geneva on Wednesday. In a recorded video message, she spoke about the importance of addressing the existing and emerging risks to global and regional security.
She stated that Khar expressed Pakistan’s concerns about the troubling trends on display in South Asia, which are straining the security environment; heightening risks to regional peace and stability; reinforcing a sense of impunity; and freezing pathways to conflict resolution through peaceful means.
The minister of state outlined Pakistan’s vision and policy for a peaceful neighborhood on the basis of universally-agreed principles; sovereign equality and undiminished security for all States; and pacific settlement of disputes. She also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world and its desire for a renewed paradigm for arms control.
She further announced that Germany’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Tobias Lindner will visit Pakistan from 4-7 March 2023, who will meet the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and review bilateral relations between Pakistan and Germany.
She said that discussions will be held inter alia on economic cooperation, climate change and regional matters of mutual interest. This will be his first visit to Pakistan.
“The visit will also build on the recent visits exchanged between the two sides last year at the level of Foreign Ministers. We will continue to pursue enhanced engagement and dialogue with Germany,” she added.
To a question about the recent visit of Director General International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi to Pakistan, she said it was in the context of the mandate of the IAEA, which is responsible for cooperation between countries on civilian uses of nuclear technology such as power generation, agriculture, and healthcare, and there was no discussion, no decision or no agreements were made with respect of our nuclear programme.
To another question about the latest report of the EU Disinfo Lab about India, she said the report once again corroborates our long-held position about some Indian media outlets’ smear campaign against Pakistan.
“We have been constantly sensitizing the international community about India's ill intentions to malign Pakistan through structures of fake organizations in media and think tanks,” she added.
About the 33rd anniversary of Tengpora massacres in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, she said that Pakistan believes that the incident is a sad reminder that the international community is yet to pay rightful attention to the situation in Kashmir, where Kashmiris are continued to face widespread brutal oppression at the hands of occupying forces.
She said it is also a travesty of justice that those responsible for the incident have yet to be held on account, adding that Pakistan will continue to raise the issue and calls of Kashmiri people at every relevant forum.
She said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit New York in the context of a Conference on Women and Islam, Understanding Rights and Identities of Women in the Islamic World on the 8th of this month.
She said the Conference is an initiative of Foreign Minister Bilawal, and convened by Pakistan in the capacity of the Chair of the OIC Council of Minister at the UN Headquarters on the sidelines of the 67th session of the UN Commission on the status of Women.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023