ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office Thursday refused to divulge if it has received any "offer" of dialogue from India and insisted that "no meaningful engagement is possible with New Delhi unless it creates enabling environment for the purpose".
Responding to queries, during weekly media briefing with regard to the recent interview of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Security Division Moeed Yusuf about India's "desire for conversation", Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri declined to comment, saying there was nothing left for him to add to what the SAPM had stated in his interview with an Indian media outlet.
However, he insisted that no dialogue or engagement with Indian was possible without ensuring active association of Kashmiris in the dialogue process.
"We have been saying this consistently that now the onus is on India to create an enabling environment for engagement...unless there is an enabling environment, meaningful dialogue with India is impossible...we have always expressed our position very clear that no talks can be held without involving the Kashmiris in the process...the [dialogue] process is impossible without involving the Kashmiri people," he said.
He further said that India would have to reverse its ongoing illegal efforts for demographic changes in the Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K), stop the worst human rights violations, extra-judicial killings in fake encounters and so-called search and cordon operations, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership and youth in the IOJ&K.
He said that India also needed to immediately stop destruction of Kashmiris' houses and the illegal military siege.
Of the 27 points of the FATF Action Plan, he said that Pakistan has largely addressed 21 points, while progress was also being made on the remaining six points.
"We remain engage with the process and believe that it would lead Pakistan out of the grey list," he added.
He said that Pakistan is implementing the FATF Action Plan since 2018 and "we have made significant progress in this regard".
Our entire AML/CFT regime has been revamped in compliance with the Action Plan to bring it to the international standards set by FATF, he said.
He said that the substantial progress made by Pakistan under a huge national effort includes steps in legislative, regulatory and operational domains.
The FATF has also acknowledged Pakistan's political commitment and the progress made by us in a number of areas in the Action Plan, he added.
"We are committed to and moving towards completion of the Action Plan. We remain engaged with the process," he added.
To another question about international media reports of 27 Indian banks involvement in money laundering and involvement of Indian in terror activities, he said that Pakistan is hopeful that the FTAF in its next year review of India would take into accounts all these revelations against India.
The spokesperson also rejected and condemned irresponsible and unwarranted statements by senior Indian leadership, adding that the statements demonstrate an inexcusable lack of self-awareness of RSS-BJP regime's self-serving narrative.
He said that the 551st birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak is scheduled to be celebrated from 28th to 30th of the next month, adding that Indian government was using dilatory tactics to deny Sikh pilgrims the opportunity to be part of the birth anniversary celebrations.
About Indian High Commission approaching the Islamabad High Court in case of four Indians military court convicts, he said that if India can approach the IHC in other cases they should do the same in case of Commander Jadhav too.
"India should realize that effective review and reconsideration in Commander Jadhav's case can only be provided by the courts in Pakistan. It is incumbent upon India to cooperate with the Pakistani courts so that the ICJ's judgment could be implemented in its letter and spirit," he asserted.
About the Mumbai attacks trial, he said that Pakistan has repeatedly asked the Indian side to cooperate with the courts in Pakistan so that the case could proceed further. As the key witnesses in the case are in India, he added that in the interest of justice, it is important that they appear before the Court to record their statements.
On the sanctions on Iran, he said that Pakistan believes in the policy of constructive engagement.-
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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