President to attend ECO summit in Baku

President Asif Ali Zardari will pay a two day visit to Baku, Azerbaijan from Monday to attend the Economic Cooperation Organization Summit.
This was stated by Spokesman of Foreign Office Moazzam Ahmad Khan while briefing newsmen here on Thursday.
He said the Prime Minister will also visit Kuwait to attend the Asia Cooperation Dialogue.
When asked about the unbending Indian stance on Kashmir issue, the spokesman said Pakistan has a clear position on the issue. President Zardari in his address to the UN General Assembly also raised the issue and referred to the failure of the United Nations to address the long standing issue. Admitting there are difficult issues between Pakistan and India, he said there is desire on both the sides to address all the outstanding issues in a meaningful manner.
To a question, he said both the countries are capable enough to address their issues bilaterally. However, if Russia, the US or China are willing to play good role to address the issues between Pakistan and India, they are welcomed.
About the visit of Russian Foreign Minister to Islamabad, Moazzam Ahmad Khan said this remained productive as talks with him covered cooperation in diverse fields including economy and trade. Recently, relations between the two countries have witnessed a change. He said Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani also recently visited Moscow and held constructive talks with the military establishment there. He said there is desire on both the sides to take forward the relationship.
When asked about new dates for the visit of Russian President, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin in a letter to President Zardari had expressed his keenness to have a summit level meeting with President Zardari soon. Both the countries are working on new dates. However no date has yet been finalized.
About the response of international community on the terror attack on Malala Yousafzai, he said different countries including the United States have strongly condemned this reprehensible act. He said Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has also condemned the attack as an attack on the future and hope of Pakistan.
Khan also condemned the attack on teenage peace activist and added that the government did not wish to speculate in regard to the suspects of the attack on Yousafzai. He further added that the attack on her was also an attack on the future and hopes of Pakistan.
To a question regarding Syria-Turkey tension, the spokesman said Pakistan has condemned the Syrian shelling into Turkey. He hoped that Syrian government will take action to avert such incidents in future. Referring to the tense situation in Syria, he said Pakistan wants peaceful resolution of this issue without any coercive measures.
Regarding appointment of American General as the New NATO Commander in Afghanistan and whether he will help reduce cross border attacks, he said Pakistan has time and again raised the issue of cross border infiltration with the Afghan authorities and ISAF. He, however, was pessimistic that the new appointment will make any major difference. It all depends upon the policies of respective countries.
Furthermore, Khan said that the Pakistani consulate in Greece was in contact with the Greek government regarding the issue of attacks upon Pakistani citizens living there.
He said the dates of the visits of Afghan Foreign Minister and Chief of Afghan Council have yet not been finalized.