The Foreign Office on Thursday rejected reports that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has refused an Indian bullet-proof car for the upcoming SAARC summit in Nepal, saying "No vehicle was offered by India and no offer was declined". Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters at the weekly press briefing that the Prime Minister will attend the SAARC Summit which is scheduled for November 26-27 in Nepal.
About the administrative arrangements, she said we have seen media reports that a vehicle was offered and the offer was refused. "Nothing of this sort has happened...No vehicle was offered by India and no offer was declined," she said.
She said that Nepal is the host country of the SAARC Summit. "Every country has its own security and protocol procedures. In this case, we are following our own security manual and protocol," she added. About the format of the Saarc Summit, she said that the Programming Committee will meet on November 22, while on November 23 and 24, the Standing Committee will meet. That meeting will be attended by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry.
The meeting of the Council of Ministers will take place on the November 25 to which Pakistan delegation will be led by the Prime Minister's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, which will be followed by a two-day summit on 26-27.
About the meetings of the Prime Minister on the sidelines of the Summit, she confirmed the meeting with the leadership of the host country, Nepal. "As regard bilateral meetings with the Indian Prime Minister, we do not have anything to share with you," she said. However, she added that "during the Summit and retreat, leaders do interact." Asked whether Pakistan will raise the issue of LoC violations during the Summit as suggested by Senate Standing Committee on Defence, she said that the SAARC charter does not provide to discuss the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. She said that Jammu and Kashmir is a dispute on the United Nations Security Council, which is the organ of the United Nations, responsible for peace and security. She said the Adviser wrote a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations to be more actively involved because that is its mandate. "We have kept the P-5 and other capitals informed as well. The SAARC Charter, I understand, does not have any provision for discussing conflicts," she added.
About the latest situations at the Working Boundary and LoC, she said we have not heard of any sustained violations by India. She said that UNMOGIP paid visits to the LoC and the Working Boundary and sent their report to the UN. Commenting on the recently released Global Terrorism Index by Institute for Economics and Peace, in which Pakistan has been ranked as third most affected country, the spokesperson that there is no doubt that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism and more than 55,000 people have been killed.
"We are, as we have stated a number of times, we are undertaking a very comprehensive and robust action against terrorists. We are confident that when we are through with our counter-terrorism operations, Pakistan will be a much safer and peaceful," she said. She said there are many factors which breed terrorism -some external and some internal. In the context of Pakistan, the terrorism we have faced is because of the events in our region in the last three decades, she said, adding that there is poverty in Pakistan as it is in many other countries.
About Pakistan-Russia relations, she said the bilateral relations between the two counties are on an upward trajectory and it is not only defence but we are looking at co-operation across the board. "Pakistan looks at Russia as a very important global player and a country that has an important role in this region's peace and stability. We have been forging very good co-operation," she added.