–Foreign secretary says Pakistan supports negotiated settlement in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Secretary of Foreign Affairs Tehmina Janjua on Tuesday said that India has held the cooperative body South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) hostage.
As per details, the foreign secretary was speaking at an international conference in the federal capital where she asserted that India has become a hurdle in the way of Pakistan hosting the SAARC summit.
Recently, Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had announced that India will not partake in the SAARC conference if it is held in Pakistan.
Janjua while highlighting the strength of Pakistan’s ties with all global powers said that Pak-China relations are exemplary which further received a boost by the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China.
Reiterating the policy towards India she added that Pakistan is willing to resolve all issues including Kashmir on the negotiation table.
“India is promoting unconventional weapons,” she pointed out.
She further said that a solution to the Afghan conflict is highly imperative and Pakistan is in favour of a dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Earlier, the foreign affairs secretary had said while addressing a ceremony marking the 34th SAARC Charter Day that all the member countries need to work together with cohesion to transform the lives of their peoples and alleviate poverty from the region.
She added that Pakistan continues to believe in the viability of SAARC and by adhering to the principles of sovereign equality and mutual respect amongst member countries, “we can guide the organization towards achieving our cherished goal of a prosperous and developed South Asian Region.”
Janju added that it is in the same spirit that Pakistan had made preparations to host the 19th SAARC summit in Islamabad.
