ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office on Monday backed constructive engagement with India for a peaceful neighbourhood, saying the responsibility of creating an environment for such a dialogue and for peace in the region lies with New Delhi.
Speaking at her weekly media briefing in response to journalists’ questions about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent statement that peace or normal relations could be possible if there would be some talks between the two countries, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan believes in a peaceful neighbourhood.
“We want peace with all our neighbours on the basis of mutual respect, and in conformity with international law. We also believe that for a peaceful neighbourhood, Pakistan and India should engage in a constructive dialogue,” she said.
However, she emphasized that the responsibility of creating an environment for such a dialogue and for peace in the region lies with India which has followed a policy of belligerence towards its neighbours, including Pakistan and which continues to suppress the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Commenting on the Indian Supreme Court’s hearing on petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, she reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised disputed territory, whose final disposition is to be made in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
“Any other process cannot serve as a substitute to the grant of the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people. Pakistan has never recognised India's control or occupation of Kashmir. So, article 370, or any provision of the Indian constitution that perpetuates Indian illegal occupation has never been accepted by Pakistan,” she said.
She further stated that India's unilateral and illegal measures since 2019, to change the demographic and political landscape in the IIOJK, are a grave concern for Pakistan.
Furthermore, she added that there is an alarming increase in the targeting of minorities in India and also expressed concerns about the recent developments and communal and ethnic violence in Manipur. She also urged the Indian government to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety, security, and dignity of Indian Muslims and other minorities.
About the findings of the recent Zhob terrorist attack, she said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the Embassy of Afghanistan and with the Afghan authorities with regard to the recent Zhob terrorist attack.
“We have shared with them the discovery that we have made with regard to the identity of terrorists who were involved in the attack on personnel of the Pakistan army in the attack in the Zhob garrison in Balochistan. We have reiterated on several occasions that the Afghan soil should not be used to foment terrorism against Pakistan,” she added.
She said that Pakistan remains in contact with Afghanistan authorities on all aspects of security, adding that Pakistan has said that it is ready to support Afghanistan in developing its capacity to fight terrorism. For us, it is critical that the territory of Afghanistan does not become a source of terrorism to Pakistan, she added.
To another question about Pakistan’s concern along with deciding to send its cricket team to India to participate in the ICC World Cup, she said that Pakistan is in the process of conveying its concerns about the security of the team.
“At this point, these concerns are being conveyed through our cricket authorities. We will continue to monitor the situation and would determine if some other channels of communication are also in order,” she added.
She hoped that Pakistan’s cricket team when it visits India for the Cricket World Cup will be extended the requisite courtesies and will be provided full safety and security. “We also expect the hosts of the Cricket World Cup to fulfil their responsibilities in terms of the participation of spectators and facilitate the participation of the various teams,” she added.
On the peace talks in Saudi Arabia for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, she said that Pakistan has always called for peace between the warring parties. “We believe that peace between Ukraine and Russia is key for the stability and peace in the region and beyond and for arresting inflation in energy and challenges in food supplies. Pakistan; therefore, supports all efforts that aim at finding a negotiated peaceful end to this conflict,” she added.
Highlighting the foreign policy achievements during Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s tenure as the foreign minister, she said that the foreign minister in his 36 foreign trips, including to attend international conferences and visits to countries in Europe, Africa, East Asia, and the Middle East, Central Asia, and the United States, focused on rebuilding of ties and restoring trust with key capitals and reinvigorating substantive engagement with traditional partners.
She said that there has been an effort to expand Pakistan’s diplomatic footprint, retake its space in the global discourse on important issues and reassert Pakistan's presence at the multilateral stage.
“We have also focused on enhancing our partnerships and dialogues with all partners through high-level engagements and regular bilateral political consultations which allowed institutionalisation of relationships. We have also focused on projecting the Kashmir cause as the core of our diplomacy,” she said.
She added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has spearheaded the campaign to project the Kashmir cause at the international level by extensively involving in raising global awareness to the catastrophic floods that took place last year, in coordinating international response and in organising the international conference on climate-resilient Pakistan held in Geneva.
She said that one of the major successes last year was Pakistan's exit from the FATF grey list and the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP 27. She said that Pakistan also took a leadership position on issues pertaining to the Islamic world, including Islamophobia and on women empowerment in Islam.
“It also led efforts for cooperation between developing countries on sustainable development and on a range of other issues that are important for the developing countries including climate change,” she added.
About the Pakistan-US relations, she said that Pakistan believes that the momentum of bilateral ties has gone up and we have seen momentum in Pakistan-United States relations. She added that there are a large number of bilateral dialogue mechanisms that have taken place in recent months and we are very confident that this relationship will continue to flourish in the coming months.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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