Pakistan expressed its hope on Thursday that the United States President Donald Trump will raise the issues of the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir with India and take forward his offer of mediation during his forthcoming visit to New Delhi.
"We hope that during the US president's visit to India the issues being faced by the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir will be raised with the Indian government and the offer of mediation expressed by the US president is taken forward through some concrete practical step,"
Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said response of a question during her weekly media briefing. US President Trump will pay a state visit to India on February 24 and 25, and travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Commenting on the letter by four US senators including Senator Lindsay Graham to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, expressing concerns about the human rights situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesperson said that there were growing voices, calling upon India to provide fundamental freedoms to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to lift the draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act.
"The letter that has been sent is yet another voice in that growing international call on the Government of India to abide by international law, human rights conventions and to ensure that a just resolution is given to the people of IOJ&K, so we welcome it," she added.
On the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooqui stated that the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who recently concluded his visit to the country, expressed his "deep concern at the increase in tensions since last year" and stressed that the solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute lay in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the resolutions of the Security Council.
She said that the UN chief also stated that it was "of utmost importance to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in IOJK."
"The unequivocal statement by UNSG serves to put to rest any confusion in any quarter, pertaining to the international status of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the need to resolve it in accordance with the UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people," Farooqui said.
About the expected signing of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban, Farooqui said that Pakistan hopes it will be signed sooner rather than later and leads to intra-Afghan dialogue and eventual peace in Afghanistan.
"There is no other country desirous to see peace and stability in Afghanistan more than Pakistan," Farooqui said, adding that Pakistan was keen to see the peace process move forward and lead towards intra-Afghan dialogue.
Asked to comment on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's reelection, she said: "We have noted the announcement made by the Independent Afghan Election Commission of Afghanistan. We are monitoring the developments and will respond at an appropriate time."
Responding to another question, if the reported escape of former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan was part of the US-Taliban peace deal, she declined to comment, saying: "it is a speculative angle that has been given to the Afghan peace process and it does not merit a comment."
To another query about reports of Pakistanis being detained in Saudi Arabia, Farooqui said that the campaign was not Pakistan-specific, saying that every year, before the month of Ramzan, Saudi authorities routinely carry out exercise against the illegal expatriates and illegal workers especially in Makkah region.
"The assumption that it is a Pakistan-specific drive is completely incorrect. The campaign is not Pakistan-specific; Saudi authorities have arrested nationals of several countries as part of this drive," she said.
Farooqui said that the Consulate General of Pakistan remained in regular contact with the Saudi authorities in the matter, and was also taking all possible measures, within local rules and regulations, to protect the interests of the Pakistani community.
"Propagation of baseless news through social media created unnecessary anxiety and unrest in the Pakistani community. Certain social media sections also sought to give it a misleading political angle. We stress again that it is in the interest of the deep-rooted Pakistan-Saudi brotherly relations that such baseless reporting and irresponsible twist are avoided at all costs," she said, adding that the fraternal Pakistan-Saudi relationship was of strategic importance and remained strong and dynamic.
"Our fraternal ties with Saudi Arabia are of strategic importance and remain strong and dynamic," Farooqui added. Sough to comment on the Senate passing a unanimous resolution rejecting US president's so-called "deal of the century" on Israel-Palestine conflict, she said that the Senate represented the people of Pakistan and "we respect the resolutions that emerge from both houses of the Parliament".
To another query about protest by the parents of stranded Pakistani students in coronavirus-hit Wuhan, China, she said that recently a two-member team of officers of the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing has been sent to Wuhan city for the purpose of evaluating situation and ensure the welfare and safety of all our students.
So far, they have visited seven universities and individually met with every student, Farooqui said, adding that the officers also met the administration of each university and the local Chinese authorities in Wuhan.
She said that the members of the task force would remain deployed in Wuhan, and would not return to Beijing until the quarantine was lifted. "Their mandate is to make sure that all needs of our students are addressed and provided to them. Their safety, wellbeing and health will be constantly monitored and ensured in close coordination/consultation with the respective university administration and Chinese authorities," Farooqui maintained.