- FO spokesperson says meeting with US delegation ‘very constructive’
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Friday that India’s controversial role in Afghanistan is neither in the interest of regional stability nor is it acceptable to Pakistan.
During the weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria here on Thursday said Indian role in Afghan’s conflict can endanger regional stability; Pakistan takes this issue very seriously and has raised it on several international fora.
He said Pakistan has also taken up this issue in high-level US delegation visit to Pakistan, which was a follow-up of the meeting between Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and US Vice President Mike Pence in Washington.
“The meeting with the US delegation was very constructive and both sides agreed to continue engagement at all levels,” Zakaria added.
“We have provided proof of Indian interference in Afghanistan,” he added.
He said that both sides have agreed to remain engaged in regional cooperation at all levels, especially with regards to terrorism. “US delegation has also been briefed on human rights violations in IoK during the meeting”, he added.
In response to a question on Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif’s statement on taking action against terrorist groups, the spokesperson said that the remarks should be seen in the context that terrorism is a common enemy and requires cooperation from all countries of the world.
“Pakistan is prepared to take action on the basis of actionable intelligence sharing and effective cooperation in counterterrorism efforts. Recent example of such cooperation is the successful recovery of a Western couple and their children from the captivity of the terrorists. Our counter-terrorism operations Zarb-ul-Azb, Radd-ul-Fasad and Khyber Operation have already reaped successes in the fight against terrorism,” he maintained.
Nafees said the essence of the meeting with US delegation was to focus on finding the solution to terrorism and Afghan conflict.
Replying to a query he said, Pakistan has always shown consent to participate in any initiative that aimed to find a settlement of Afghan issue. “We have to move forward; Pakistan has always supported all the initiatives, including Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG).”
He said Pakistan wants an ‘Afghan-led’ solution of the issue.
He informed that foreign secretary also visited Russia to lead the Pakistan delegation to the meeting of Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Contact Group on Afghanistan, adding that she also held bilateral meetings with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and Russian President’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Ambassador Zamir Kabulov.
Replying to a question about India hosting the 14th EU-India summit last week, he said being a custodian of human rights, the European Union should take a clear stance on Indian atrocities in India-occupied Kashmir.
He informed that in IoK, brutal killing of Kashmiris by Indian armed forces continues unchecked. “In the last four days, reportedly seven Kashmiri youth have been martyred. We condemn Indian atrocities in IoK against innocent Kashmiris and urge the international community to act now to stop Kashmiris’ bloodshed, and hold India accountable for the heinous crimes being committed by its forces in IoK”.
“Our representatives in UN New York and UN Geneva have been constantly raising this issue,” he added.
He said OIC contact groups on Kashmir have also urged sending of a Fact-Finding Mission to IoK which is also demanded by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Council, OIC’s IPHRC and Parliamentarians and members of civil society from across the globe.
Replying to another question, he said, “We have been engaging with Iranian authorities over border management and there has been no miscommunication between the two countries”.
He said Kashmir dispute is among the oldest items on the UN agenda. Non-resolution of this dispute by the UN has encouraged India to prevent the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, through force and fraud, from ‘exercising their fundamental and inalienable right to self-determination’.
The spokesperson said Indian deployment of 700,000 Indian troops in occupied Kashmir to suppress the legitimate freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people is a blatant violation of the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir.
FS noted that Indian actions are a serious threat for maintenance of regional peace and tranquility & may lead to strategic miscalculation
— M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) October 12, 2017