- Adviser on foreign affairs says Pakistan to try all to bring peace in war-torn Afghanistan
- LoC tensions result of India’s ceasefire violations
- Ties with US to flourish in the future
Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz, on Friday dropped a strong hint on consensus achieved by Pakistan and Afghanistan over relocating the Taliban office from Doha (Qatar), stating that Pakistan fully supported the Doha process that would hopefully succeed irrespective of “any location” of the peace talks.
This was for the first time any official version came to the fore after President Karzai left for home after talks.
Pakistan Today had broke the story that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Hamid Karzai had agreed for relocating the Taliban office from Qatar to any new location, either to Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
Outlining the country’s features of foreign policy in the National Assembly, Aziz reminded the House that Pakistan had fully backed the Doha peace process but unfortunately the matter hit snags.
“However, we hope that the good work done would not go wasted and the Qatar process would help peace talks irrespective of the fact of the location (of talks),” he added.
Aziz said Pakistan did not support any specific ethnic group in Afghanistan, rather it had links with all groups and would utilise its good ties with all parties to bring peace and normalcy in war-torn Afghanistan. He said peace and stability in Afghanistan was vital for peace in Pakistan.
Syria attack:
Expressing concerns over the humanitarian situation in Syria‚ Sartaj Aziz said Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty should be respected. “Pakistan wants resolution of this problem through peaceful means. The UN inspectors are currently in Syria and the world powers should wait for their report”.
Condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria‚ the adviser said Pakistan rejected regime change through external sources, as the change should be decided by the Syrians themselves.
LoC tensions:
Briefing the House about Pak-India tensions at the Line of Control (LoC), Aziz said the skirmishes with Indian military had increased with India indulging in violations of ceasefire. He deplored the tensions in relations between the neighbours and said Pakistan undertook several steps to defuse the tension, but India did not reciprocate Pakistan’s overtures.
He said Pakistan had proposed joint investigation of violations on the LoC through the UN Military Observers’ Group, but India refused both proposals. He said eleven people, including eight army personnel, had been killed and 31 injured in Indian violations along the LoC since January.
Aziz said Pakistan had called upon New Delhi to observe 2003 Ceasefire Agreement for reduction of tension.
About the Kashmir issue‚ he said India had always insisted for solution of the dispute through bilateral talks, but so far these efforts had failed to produce any result. He asked the international community to intervene and fulfill its responsibility for resolution of this outstanding issue for peace and stability in the region.
Pak-US ties:
About relations with the US ‚ Aziz said both countries had agreed to resume the strategic dialogue early next year. He expressed the confidence that relations, which saw ups and downs in the past, would flourish in the years to come.
He said Pakistan’s priority was to enhance trade and economic relations with the US as “we are pursuing the policy of trade, not aid”.
On drone strikes‚ he said the attacks had resulted in loss of innocent lives and were against the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. He said time and again Pakistan raised the matter at various fora that drone attacks were counterproductive as martyrdom of innocent civilians in such attacks resulted in fanning militancy and extremism.
He said the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also supported Pakistan’s stance on drone strikes.
Aziz said the prime minister, during his visit to the US next month, would raise the issue again with the Obama administration and hoped that the country would remain successful in halting such attacks.