Pakistan neither isolated nor desperate for talks with India

• Sartaj Aziz says it was Pakistan’s successful foreign policy that thwarted India’s NSG bid; says relations with US are ‘complicated’
• Says media criticism takes the spotlight away from foreign policy achievements of the country
• Says ‘only Pakistan can determine how it should respond to the strategic and conventional imbalance in South Asia’

Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Monday categorically dispelled an impression of Pakistan’s international isolation, saying the country is pursuing an active foreign policy for promoting and protecting its national interests in the changing geo-strategic situation in the region.

Flanked by Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Cultural Heritage Pervaiz Rashid, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Aziz was briefing editors and anchorpersons on the entire gamut of foreign policy and Pakistan’s strategy to address emerging challenges in terms of its relations with its neighbours and other countries of the world.

Sartaj Aziz said that Pakistan is following the model of United States in shaping the country’s foreign policy. He said the consultation between the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the military establishment is a common feature in both countries’ processes of formulating the foreign policy.

He also rejected the assertion that Pakistan needs to have a fulltime foreign minister, saying that in his capacity of adviser, he is performing all the required tasks and there is no need of having a foreign minister.

Aziz was critical of the media’s criticism over the perceived failure of the Foreign Ministry to pursue an aggressive diplomatic policy, adding that the Foreign Ministry had dynamic officers but their successes had been overshadowed by media’s criticism.

He dwelt at length on Pakistan’s relations with India, United States, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Gulf Cooperation Countries and recounted many achievements of the successful government policy in forging its foreign relations while pursuing its vital national interests.

He said the country’s relations with regional and global players have improved significantly despite challenges. He said that effective implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project is one of the major challenges facing the country.

After giving an overview of the foreign policy, Aziz answered questions of the journalists on various important issues concerning Pakistan’s relations with different countries.

PAK-US TIES:

On the Pak-US relations, Aziz, admitted that there are some ‘complications’. He said that “effective nuclear deterrence” is critical for Pakistan’s security.

“Only Pakistan can determine how it should respond to the strategic and conventional imbalance in South Asia,” Aziz said, when asked whether ties with the US had been impacted due to Pakistan’s refusal to cap the nuclear programme.

He said that Pakistan is in a continuous dialogue with the US State Department.

‘THE WORLD LISTENED TO OUR ARGUMENT AGAINST INDIA’S MEMBERSHIP OF NSG’:

Questioned about Indian quest to become member of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), he said it was not acceptable to Pakistan that despite being a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), India should become its member. Pakistan, therefore, had emphasised that a criteria-based approach should be followed as both Pakistan and India had not signed the NPT; hence, if India was to become an NSG member, Pakistan should also be given this opportunity. Secondly, if India alone was given the membership, it would undermine the strategic stability in the region and many countries were convinced of this argument advanced by Pakistan, he said.

‘FLYING COLOURS BABY, FLYING COLOURS’:

It was not only China and Turkey but many other countries like Brazil, Austria, Kazakhistan, Norway and Switzerland which supported Pakistan’s stance in the NSG, he said, adding that it was the success of Pakistan’s diplomacy that seven countries had opposed India’s inclusion in the NSG.

However, Aziz warned that the issue of NSG membership had not gone away. He said that Pakistan is working out a post-Seoul strategy.

“We will continue our diplomatic offensive in this regard,” Sartaj Aziz said.

He said that Pakistan adhered to the nuclear safety, security and strict export control and effective command and control system as mentioned by the IAEA.

‘ON AFGHANISTAN, DEADLOCK IS THE KEYWORD’:

Aziz said the peace process in Afghanistan was deadlocked and could take time to restart.

“Despite 15 years of war in Afghanistan, peace could not be restored there; hence, it will come only through dialogue. Afghan Taliban might not be able to capture Kabul but they have the ability to continue fighting. If they start gaining ground they will not talk but if they fail, they will come to talks,” he said.

However, Aziz made it clear it was not in the hands of Pakistan to bring all the Afghan Taliban groups to the negotiating table but they are ready to facilitate a dialogue process for achieving lasting peace in Afghanistan.

Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan had some influence over Taliban. But since the operation Zarb-e-Azb, the Taliban mostly had shifted to Afghanistan and most of their fighting capability was inside Afghanistan now.

Aziz said it is too early to say when the dialogue will kick off again but Pakistan will continue efforts towards that end. However, talks have to be held between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

‘UNDERSTANDING REACHED WITH AFGHANS TO AVOID A REPEAT OF TORKHAM’:

Talking about the firing incident at Torkham border with Afghanistan, he said Pakistan was well within its right to erect a gate inside its border and no one was being allowed to cross into Pakistan since June 1 if they had valid documents.

Aziz said that after talks with his Afghani counterpart on the sidelines of the recently concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a high level mechanism had been agreed upon between the two sides under which Director Generals of both the countries would decide where to built gates for better management of the border between the two sides. This arrangement would help avoid untoward incidents in future, he added.

Signifying the importance of border management, he said Pakistan could not afford to have a loose border with Afghanistan as all the attackers committing terrorism in the country came from across the border. He said it was in the interest of Islamabad and Kabul to have border management to curb the incidents of terrorism. It is very important in efforts being made by the two sides to counter terrorism, he added.

He said Pakistan had already reviewed its Afghan policy and was now following a policy of non-interference in Afghanistan’s affairs and had no favorites among the Afghan groups.

Asked why Afghanistan was objecting to the erection of a gate at the Torkham border, he said it might like to have a loose border through which timber, marble and drugs could be smuggled across the border.

RELATIONS WITH INDIA:

Aziz said that Pakistan wants good relations with India. However, he reiterated that while Pakistan wanted resumption of dialogue, it “was not desperate” to “have talks at any cost”. He said that when the dialogue commences, the agenda will include the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir.

“However, terrorism can also be discussed as one of the items of the dialogue process,” he added.

He said that soon after the oath taking of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan launched its initiative to start the composite dialogue.

He said Pakistan is set to host the SAARC summit in November and preparations in this regard are being made.

CHINA, THE TRUSTED ALLY:

Sartaj Aziz also highlighted the significance of the CPEC project, saying that timely execution of the project is imperative for the country’s development. He termed China a trusted partner who stands by Pakistan in its hour of need.

Aziz also hinted at pressures on Pakistan from major powers not to pursue the CPEC, saying that certain powers have objections over the CPEC; hence, its timely execution is a must for Pakistan.

He said that relations with the GCC countries is also a challenge as Pakistan wants to pursue warm, brotherly relations with all the Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and Iran. He said that friendly relations will also be pursued with Russia.

ARMY AND FOREIGN POLICY:

Asked to comment on the military’s dominant role in shaping the country’s foreign policy, Aziz said that one must keep in mind the fact that Pakistan was ruled by military for over 35 years during its history.

“As far as the perception that military has a dominant role in decision-making vis-a-vis the country’s relations with India, US and Afghanistan is concerned, it should be noted that the military has ruled the country for a long time, and has firsthand knowledge of the situation,” he said.

Asked if the top civilian leadership had recently been ‘summoned’ to the army’s headquarters, Aziz said it was his own idea due to some ‘logistical problems’.

However, Aziz added that there had been convergence and harmony between the military and civilian leaderships over the past three years on major challenges faced by the country. He said that it was due to that harmony that Pakistan had achieved enormous success in eliminating the menace of terrorism from Pakistan.

Aziz also shrugged away the impression of differences between him and Fatemi.

Aziz said that the country had achieved 75 per cent success in counterterrorism operations. He said the targets in counterterrorism as well as foreign policy and National Action Plan (NAP) are being achieved.