The Foreign Office has recently urged the Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) to handle the entry applications of Pakistan and India even-handedly .
At a news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday (today), Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said it has been our consistent position that the NSG membership for the non-NPT states must be dealt with in accordance with a single, uniform, non-discriminatory and fair criteria.
He said Pakistan has been making efforts to muster the support of the NSG members for its own membership. He said the country has strong credentials to become a membership of the NSG. Pakistan’s membership, in fact, is in the interest of the nuclear trading countries as it will further promote the non-proliferation objectives.
About relations with India, the spokesperson said Pakistan wants unconditional talks with the neighbouring country for the resolution of all the outstanding issues. He said Pakistan is deeply concerned over human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir and has raised this matter forcefully at several international forums. He said Kashmir dispute and the human rights violation in the held valley will figure in any future talks with New Delhi.
When queried about talks with the Afghan side on border management, the spokesperson said, “We have taken necessary steps to ensure smooth implementation of border management.” He said it is a key component to counter terrorism and stop infiltration of terrorists. He said, “We have engaged Afghan side on the matter and expressed the confidence this will result in improvement of the situation on the border.
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He said Pakistan is still hosting three million refugees despite its bearing on our economy. He said some of the refugee camps have become security risks as the terrorists are finding refuge in those camps. He said the Afghan government supported by the international community should create the pull factor for the return and reintegration of the refugees to their homeland.
To another question, Nafees Zakria said all the four members in the QCG are making efforts to bring the warring factions to the table of negotiations. He reiterated that a politically negotiated settlement through Afghan-owned and afghan-led process is the only viable option for bringing lasting peace in Afghanistan.
To a question about China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, the spokesperson said the mega development project would not only benefit Pakistan and China but the whole region. Therefore, nobody should have any concerns about it. He said that the projects under the umbrella of CPEC are being launched as per the schedule.
Read more:Any exemption to India for NSG entry must also apply to Pak: Chinese media