—Spokesperson says Pakistan follows OIC decision regarding Jerusalem
–Rubbishes reports of halting of CPEC payments
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan does not agree with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s statement about Pakistan “drifting from common interest”, said Foreign Office spokesperson on Monday while responding to a recent statement of Tillerson regarding Pakistan’s commitment to the US-led war on terror.
Tillerson had said that “he does not enjoy the task of dealing with countries like Pakistan and North Korea”, adding Pakistan was a valued partner but it had drifted from the common interest, and needed to be brought back.
Snubbing the secretary Tillerson’s statement, the FO spokesperson, Muhammad Faisal, tweeted, “We do not agree with the comments and perception of Secretary Tillerson, as Pakistan has undertaken largescale operations against terrorists and their safe havens across the length and breadth of the country with notable success.”
“These operations are being carried out in our own national interest and Pakistan is determined to rid its soil of the scourge of terrorism and extremism,” the FO added.
During the weekly briefing in the day, FO spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan reiterated its decade-old stance of a sovereign Palestine state during the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit.
“Pakistan would follow the decisions of the OIC regarding the issue and work for their implementation,” he said.
According to the summit declaration, the OIC member state recognised Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital “under occupation”, he said.
Elaborating on Pakistan’s stance over the issue during the OIC summit, he said, Pakistan, along with member OIC states, urged the United States to rescind the decision in view of its potential repercussions in the region.
Over the submission of the documents to International Court Justice pertaining to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jhadav, the FO spokesperson said that Pakistan had submitted comprehensive counter documents in the case, that cover all the legal aspects of the case.
Regarding permission to Jhadav’s wife and mother to meet him, Dr Faisal said Pakistan had received a response from India regarding the visit of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife and they would come to Pakistan to meet him on December 25. “Complete security would be provided to the mother and wife of Jadhav during their visit to Pakistan,” he added.
Replying to another query, the spokesman said that the Indian arms buildup had pushed the region into an arms race fomenting instability in the whole region. Pakistan’s armed forces are ready to defend the country’s borders in case of any threat, the spokesman added.
Going into detail over war-torn Afghanistan during the briefing, the FO spokesperson said that Pakistan had reservations about the ungoverned areas in Afghanistan that not only pose threat to the stability of Afghanistan, but the security of the whole region as well.
“Over 43 per cent area of Afghanistan is out of the control of the Afghan government, which has become a breeding ground for terror groups from across the world, including ISIS”, he added.
The terror outfit, ISIS, has expanded its presence to the Afghan-China border, Dr Faisal said.
Urging for a need to curb these activities, he said Pakistan expected that the Afghan government and Resolute Support Mission would take action to bring those territories under control.
The spokesperson rubbished the reports that Beijing had halted payments on any of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the country, saying there was no news from Beijing that the Chinese government was halting funding for any of the projects. Execution of payments takes place in a specific manner, he added.
The FO’s denial came days after Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal had said that China had halted the release of funds for three CPEC projects, till the revision of its “financial mechanism” by Beijing.
He further commented on the CPEC, saying it was the flagship project of Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. “Inclusion of other countries in the CPEC will be decided by mutual cooperation, Pakistan and China are working out modalities in this connection as many countries have expressed their interest in joining the project”, he added.
Replying to another question, he said Pakistan places great importance to the security of Chinese working in Pakistan and had taken strict measures regarding it.
Over the Kashmir issue, Dr Faisal said, in 2017 alone Indian forces had carried out more than 1,300 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the death of 54 innocent civilians and injuries to 174 others, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016.
In the last, but no least, the FO spokesperson congratulated Pakistani cyclist Samar Khan who had become the first women to scale Africa’s highest Mountain Kilimanjaro on a bicycle.
