Pakistan denies report of talks between Chinese govt, Baloch separatists

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday denied the report of talks between China and the separatist groups from Balochistan regarding the safety of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

During his weekly press briefing, the Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said that the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had already rejected these speculations by stating that both the governments have been working in coordination on security matters regarding the safety of CPEC.

He said CPEC was a flagship project of the One Belt, One Road initiative and was a hallmark of a strong Pakistan-China friendship.

Regarding sending Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson said that a Pakistani military group was present there for training purposes, and not to take part in ‘Saudi Ittehad.’

Dr Faisal said that Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif visited Russia to hold bilateral consultations with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Replying to a question, Faisal said both the foreign ministers reiterated their stance that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict and a negotiated settlement through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process was the only viable option for lasting peace in Afghanistan.

The spokesperson further said that Pakistan had serious concerns over its probable placement in the FATF grey list and termed it as a clear violation of the established rules.

Regarding the recent statement of Indian army chief, he said that India was in the habit of levelling baseless allegations against Pakistan. It was a part of India’s malicious designs against Pakistan, he added.

Further, Dr Faisal said the Indian occupation forces killed eight Kashmiris, including 17-year-old girl Saima Wani and 55-year-old mentally-challenged man Syed Habibullah in Shopian and Budgam areas respectively. People in Srinagar and Poonch areas in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) were also martyred.

He said the miseries of the people in IOK have increased manifold as the Indian occupation forces in Srinagar, Pulwama, Shopian, Islamabad, Kulgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipore districts continued to terrorise the citizens through illegal house searches, damaging properties and beating the people without any provocation.