Spokesperson says Pakistan condemns deadly Paris shooting
The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said that India should investigate the causes of recent escalation in tensions at the Line of Control (LoC) rather than trading allegations and denying any such probe.
Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) personnel resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling along the Working Boundary in Sialkot’s Zafarwal and Shakargarh sectors earlier this week, killing four Pakistani civilians.
Addressing her weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tasnim Aslam also condemned the deadly shooting at a French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
Earlier on Tuesday, hooded gunmen had stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing at least 12 people, including two police officers in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades. Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) is well known for courting controversy with satirical attacks on political and religious leaders.
Aslam said that Pakistan deplores all forms of terrorism and extends condolences to the government of France and its citizens for the loss of life. She said that Pakistan’s stance over blasphemous cartoons is very clear. While strongly condemning the attack, she added that Pakistan in the past had moved a resolution in the United Nations and the world needs to get out of Islamophobia.
Aslam further said, “We are confident that the international community will persist in standing firm against terrorism and that the culprits behind terrorist activities will be brought to justice.”
The FO spokesperson also mentioned that the dates of US secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan have been finalised. She added that Pakistan’s issues will be discussed with him during strategic talks.
The US State Department on Tuesday announced Kerry’s visit to South Asia next week, but did not reveal his schedule for Pakistan due to security reasons.