Pakistan asks India to protect Jinnah House in Mumbai

• FO says Pakistan desires to take possession of historic property; ‘No serving or non-serving diplomat has immunity within country

Pakistan on Thursday asked India to fulfill its obligation of protecting the Jinnah House – the residence with the ownership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah – in Mumbai.

“We expect that the Indian government will fulfill its obligation of protecting that property and its upkeep,” Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said during a weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan has repeatedly expressed its desire to take possession of the Jinnah House. The Indian government should respect the ownership rights of the Pakistan government in this regard, he said.

He said that the issue has already been taken with the Indian authorities and the property should be handed over to Pakistan. Speaking about former envoy Husain Haqqani’s recent article and his diplomatic immunity, he said any diplomat, serving or non-serving, has no diplomatic immunity within his or her country.

About former chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif heading the 39-nation military alliance, he said that he has seen the statement made by the defence minister. “I don’t think after what has been said by him and the things which have been discussed in the parliament, I have anything to add,” he said. Adding that Pakistan was already the part of the counter-terrorism alliance, he said.

Zakaria reiterated the plight of Kashmiris and called upon the international community to ensure that India was held accountable for its crimes against humanity and genocide of Kashmiri people. He said Pakistan continues its strides on the foreign relations and economic fronts. Recent days have witnessed a number of high-level visits as also outgoing visits. He said.

She said that the economic indicators have shown constant growth. Recently, ground-breaking ceremony of a joint venture hub coal-fired power plant under CPEC took place. The project would not only help bridge gap in the country’s energy requirement but it would also create job opportunities.

“The warmth and sincerity in our relations with China transcends all levels of the government and people as manifested in the words of Wang Binghua, a Chinese power sector entrepreneur, who said; “China’s interest in Pakistan is focused on sustainable development, not profits,” he said.

Zakaria also confirmed meeting between Pakistan Maritime Agency and India’s coast guards that will be held on April 16 to 19 2017 in Delhi. The spokesperson also regretted the treatment being meted out to Muslims, Christians and other minorities in India and condemned the vitriolic statements by Yogi Aditynath, the new chief minister of the state.

“Because of the rise of Hindu fundamentalism and Hindutva sentiment over there, India is stifling and suffocating its religious minorities. It is not just the Muslim minority, other minorities are also suffering, which should be noted by the international community and particularly OIC and Muslim countries,” he said while replying to question about Bill BJP’s lawmaker introduced proposing the capital punishment for cow slaughters.

“Pakistan has continued to emphasise that effective border management is important for combating terrorism and preventing cross-border movement of terrorists. I think both the sides have realised that terrorism is a common threat, and that we need to take necessary measures to check terrorism as it is affecting people of both the countries. For this to happen, effective border control management is an imperative,” he replied when asked about the fencing of Pak-Afghan border that is currently underway.

Zakaria also confirmed Pakistan’s representation in six party regional consultation to be held in Moscow. Recently, Russia took an initiative of organising six-party regional consultations that were held on February 15, 2017. Now it has planned to convene, 12 party talks in Moscow in mid-April where the central Asian countries and US have also been invited. “Pakistan will participate in the forthcoming Moscow meeting in accordance with our policy of constructive engagement at all forums relating to Afghan peace,” he added.