Foreign Office on Thursday described the nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean and testing of inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a range of 5,000 kilometres by India as a source of concern for regional countries and beyond. During his weekly media briefing Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, commenting on India's massive defence build-up, said that the growing Indian conventional and strategic capabilities, particularly its nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean and the testing of ICBMs with a range of more than 5,000-km are clear indications of its global power ambition.
"This should be a source of concern for countries in the region and beyond. Pakistan, while remaining committed to the avoidance of any kind of arms race in the region, will continue to take appropriate measures to maintain strategic stability in the region and to ensure its national security," he said.
He said that India's massive arms-buying spree, making it one of the top arms-importers in the world, is driven by its desire for regional hegemony and global power status. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been compelled to acquire and maintain a deterrent capability to ensure its national security, he said, adding that Pakistan never wants to engage in any kind of arms race - nuclear or conventional.
"We have long maintained that the two countries need to engage in a meaningful dialogue for mutual restraint measures and conflict resolution for lasting peace and stability in South Asia," he said, adding the international community has a role to play in prodding India to positively respond to Pakistan's proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime in the South Asia.
He pointed out that several international reports and independent observers have drawn attention to the rapid expansion in India's capability to produce fissile material for military use which has been made possible by the 2008 NSG waiver granted to India without appropriate non-proliferation safeguards and the subsequent nuclear deals struck with different countries.
"We expect that as the NSG debates the membership of non-NPT states, it would take stock of the consequences of the 2008 exemption and avoid a repeat of the same mistake," he added.
About the upcoming meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission, he said that it is a regular meeting under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). "It seems that finally India is realising the importance of the mechanism under the IWT for resolving water disputes related to the Indus River and its tributaries," he added. On acquittal of Swami Aseemanand in the Ajmer Sharif bombing case who also masterminded Samjhauta Express terrorist attack, he said that in December 2010, Swami Aseemanand made a public confession that he was the mastermind of this attack, along with Abhinav Bharat's head, Colonel Parohit, who was serving army officer.
"We were given assurance at the highest political level on numerous occasions that India will share investigations on this [Samjhauta Express] attack with us, but we didn't hear anything from them...What we have noted is that over the last few years they had been exonerating people involved in the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack," he said.
He said that Pakistan has been pursuing the case of Samjhauta Express with the Indian government and hoped that they will share the investigations collected so far in the case with the Pakistani government and bring the perpetrators to justice.
To a question about India's deployment of the US-made night vision drones on the LoC, Zakaria said that he does not have the details. However, he said that Pakistan's principled position on such issues is very clear and consistent. "We look at the arms race and defence build-up by India as adversely affecting peace and stability in the region," he added.
About Afghanistan's decision of not participating in the ECO Summit at the highest level, he said that Afghanistan is a sovereign country and can make its own decisions about attending such meetings. However, he said that ECO Summit provided a great opportunity to Afghanistan to be part of the meaningful deliberations at the ECO Summit for promoting regional connectivity, particularly in the fields of energy and infrastructure.
To another query about killing of two Pakistani eunuchs in Saudi Arabia, he contradicted the media reports and stated that after an inquiry it was found that certain Pakistanis were arrested in Saudi Arabia for allegedly violating local laws, which included two members of transgender community.
"After our Mission intervened, most Pakistanis were released. However, one of the two eunuchs died of cardiac arrest and not due to torture. Reportedly, his medical history testified that he had had heart-related problem," he added. To another question about the recent terrorist attacks, he said that Pakistan has continued to point out the gravity of threat emanating from terrorist groups like TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar enjoying sanctuaries in Afghanistan, adding the recent terrorist attacks have once again vindicated Pakistan's position.
As regards the Indian involvement in terrorist attacks in Pakistan, he said that this is a matter of fact as Pakistan has undeniable proof, adding the arrest of Kulbhushan Yadav, a serving Indian Naval Officer who was working for Indian intelligence agency RAW, is a case in point. "We have been constantly highlighting the use of Afghan soil by India against Pakistan," he added.
He said that border management with Afghanistan is the most important aspect to control cross-border movement of terrorists, which is hurting both sides. He said that it is in the interest of both Pakistan and Afghanistan to install effective border management mechanism. He further said that the decision of the closure of the border is driven by the need to protect Pakistani citizens from the imminent terrorist threats from groups based in Afghanistan. "We hope the Afghan government would cooperate in managing the border," he added.
The spokesperson also declined to comment on media reports that claimed that "Trump's generals have been warned by member of Pakistani military that they face a "total mess" in Afghanistan unless America and Britain halt the advance of ISIS and the Taliban otherwise Russia could tempt to stage a Syrian-style intervention." "We do not comment on unconfirmed media reports from this podium," he said.