The Foreign Office on Friday said that Pakistan is closely monitoring a bill in the US Congress aimed at ending the country's civilian assistance, saying the sponsors of the proposed legislation represent a particular mindset that opposes international assistance. "We are closely monitoring the bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives to end non-defense aid to Pakistan," said Spokesperson Foreign Office Dr Mohammad Faisal while replying to the media persons' queries during his weekly briefing.
He said that a similar bill was introduced in the US Senate a couple of weeks ago. "According to our embassy in Washington, these bills are at preliminary stages and will be considered in the respective committees," he added. He said the sponsors of these bills have a particular mindset, as they oppose international assistance and advocate that the money should be spent inside the country for infrastructure development.
"While Pakistan has decided not to seek assistance from the US, we would like to place on record that the past US assistance has served the mutual interest of the two countries," he asserted, adding this fact has been repeatedly acknowledged by the US officials.
To a question regarding the comments by US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan that the "US wants to retain ties with Pakistan," the spokesperson termed it a welcome step, saying that senior US officials are publicly noting the importance of this longstanding relationship, Pakistan's contributions against terrorism, especially against al Qaeda and ISIS, and its generosity in hosting millions of Afghan refugees.
"Pakistan has consistently emphasized that we share the objectives of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. We also believe that peace in Afghanistan can only be secured through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process that offers incentives for all the Afghan stakeholders," he said, adding that Pakistan will continue to support all efforts to this end.
On the launch of 104 satellites into space by India, he said that all states have the legitimate right to pursue peaceful uses of space technology. However, given the dual-use nature of such technologies, it is essential that such pursuits are not directed towards a buildup of destabilizing military capabilities which can negatively impact regional strategic stability, he added.
"Pakistan has been firmly committed to the avoidance of arms race in outer space," he said, adding that Pakistan has a robust space programme for peaceful applications and the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) is already operating a communications satellite PakSat-IR. To a question regarding India's test of its indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile, he said that Pakistan believes that maintenance of strategic stability at the regional level is a shared responsibility given its link with the objective of peace and development.
"The best way to promote strategic stability is through mutually agreed restraint measures, avoidance of arms race and the pursuit of destabilizing weapons systems," he said, adding that Pakistan remains committed to a policy of restraint and responsibility. In pursuance of this policy, he added that Pakistan will continue to undertake all necessary measures to deter external aggression in accordance with its legitimate defense needs and region-specific threat spectrum.
On the LoC ceasefire violations, he in 2018 so far, the Indian forces have carried out more than 190 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary, resulting in the loss of lives of 13 innocent civilians, while injuring 65 others.
This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,970 ceasefire violations, resulting in the loss of lives of 54 civilians and injuries to more than 200, he said. "The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," he added.
Regarding the Chinese national's killing in Karachi, he said the incident is highly unfortunate and condemnable, adding the culprits will be apprehended very soon. He also did not rule out the possibility of the India's involvement in killing of the Chinese national, saying that Indian state involvement in perpetrating terrorism in Pakistan is a known fact, the most recent example of which is the apprehension of the serving Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav.
"It is regrettable that India has so far not given us any reply on how commander Jadhav was in possession of the passport of Hussain Mubarak Patel, or any details of his retirement from Indian Navy...Also, had he been retired prior to his arrest?" he said.
He further said that Jadhav was tried in accordance with the law of the land in a fully transparent manner by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under section 59 of Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 and Section 3 of Official Secret Act of 1923.
He said that Jadhav confessed before a magistrate and the court that he was tasked by the RAW to plan, coordinate and organize espionage and sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan. He said that the Indian agent was awarded the death sentence which was confirmed by the Chief of Army Staff on April 10, 2017.
He further said that Jadhav was operating a wide network of terrorism, subversion and terror financing related networks in Pakistan. "He [Jadhav] will be dealt with, in line with the law of the land, for all his crimes accordingly," he added.
Responding to a question about Indian Amy Chief's statement related to the tension on LoC, Faisal said such statements are a reflection of Indian mindset while Pakistan still believes in peaceful neighborhood, which must be reciprocated by others.
On Afghanistan, he said that a high-level Pakistani delegation comprising senior civilian and military officials led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua visited Kabul on February 03, 2018 to hold discussions with their Afghan counterparts, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, on Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) - a joint action plan for cooperation in the areas of counterterrorism and reduction of violence, peace and reconciliation, refugees repatriation and joint economic development.
He said that the meeting was held in a cordial environment and both delegations made some progress on the APAPPS.
There are still important areas to be discussed and agreed upon, and both sides remain committed to continuing their discussions to reach an agreement on the APAPPS, he said, adding that the Afghan delegation led by deputy foreign minister is already here for a two-day talk from February 9 to 10.
The agenda of these talks is a joint action plan for cooperation in the areas of counterterrorism and reduction of violence, peace and reconciliation, refugees' repatriation and joint economic development, he said.
On the Afghan refugees, the matter of the safe and early repatriation of the Afghan refugees to Afghanistan with dignity remains a fundamental concern for Pakistan, adding that Pakistan has repeatedly raised this issue with the Afghan government and the international community.
At present, there are 1.4 million registered and an equal number of unregistered Afghan citizens living in Pakistan, he said, adding that SAFRON ministry is in the process of finalizing a repatriation plan.
"We are also engaged with Afghan government, donors and other stakeholders for the smooth resettlement and reintegration of the returning refugees in Afghan society," he said, adding that SAFRON Ministry is also working on a visa policy so that the returnees can have proper visa and documents if they want to come back to Pakistan.
To address the issue of illegal crossover from Afghanistan to Pakistan, he said work was also underway on effective border controls, adding that Pakistan will encourage and facilitate legitimate travel and trade while curbing illegal movement across Pak-Afghan border.
"Pakistan has consistently maintained that Afghan refugees must be encouraged to return to their homeland through creation of necessary 'pull factors' by the Afghan government," he said, adding that these include provision of housing, employment, well being and other basic amenities, that act as incentives for their comfortable and sustainable livelihood in Afghanistan.
To another query, he said that there are 206 Pakistani prisoners in China, of whom 195 are serving prison sentence in drug smuggling cases and 11 in other crimes such as dangerous driving, robbery and fraud. However, he clarified that there is no linkage between the arrests of Chinese nationals in ATM fraud case with Pakistani prisoners who are currently held in detention here.
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