Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakariya on Thursday said Pakistan and the United States have strong collaboration in counter-terrorism.
Responding to a question at a media briefing, the spokesman said terrorism was a global issue and it should not be left on one country. He expressed hope that the international community, especially the United States, will continue its cooperation with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
Zakariya said Pakistan needs F-16 fighter jets, which will certainly enhance its capacity to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from the country.
Responding to another question, he said Pakistan was ready for holding talks with India when the latter desired. The spokesman said dialogue was the best option to move forward in line with PM Nawaz Sharif’s vision of having friendly relations with all the neighboring countries, including India. He said Pakistan would like to engage in a durable, sustained, and result oriented dialogue with India where all the issues of concerns from both sides are addressed amicably.
Answering another question, he said Islamabad has decided to implement measures at Torkham to effectively manage the border and to monitor illegal border crossing. He said due to differences over the measures to regulate the movements across the border, it has been temporarily closed. He added that both sides were in contact through military to military channels to address the issue. He said the entire international community, including the countries of the Quadrilateral Contact Group (QCG), comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States, and China, were trying to bring peace in Afghanistan.
Responding to a query about the hanging of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader in Bangladesh, Motiur Rehman, Zakariya said it was not an internal matter of Bangladesh. “It was a flawed trial pertaining to the events that took place before December 1971 and people like Motiur Rehman were being implicated for upholding the laws of Pakistan,” he added. He said the Acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to register Pakistan’s concerns over the matter.