High officials from Pakistan, China and Russia will meet in Moscow on Tuesday (December 27) for trilateral talks on issues of regional peace and stability, including situation in Afghanistan, Foreign Office said on Thursday. "This is an existing [trilateral] forum for undertaking informal discussions on issues of regional peace and stability, including situation in Afghanistan," Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said this during his weekly media briefing, adding Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry will lead Pakistani delegation in the meeting.
He said that peace and stability in Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and the entire region. In this spirit, he added Pakistan remains committed and extends all co-operation to the efforts towards bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan. He pointed out that Pakistan has played a very positive role in bringing warring factions in Afghanistan to the negotiating table. "Whenever we are approached to help bring the warring factions to the negotiating table, we assist," he added.
On a recent Pentagon report urging Pakistan to deny safe havens to terror outfits, Zakaria asserted that Pakistan does not allow its territory to be used for attacks against any other country. "This is more of rhetoric than anything else. Afghanistan is infested with most terrorist organisations due to the instability there, which has created space for these terrorist elements," he added.
He maintained that a large number of terrorists have moved to the Afghan side of the border after successful launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb. "The results of our military action are there for everyone to see through peace and stability at the borders," he said, adding this fact has already been acknowledged at various levels of the US leadership and the rest of the world along with the sacrifices that Pakistan has rendered in the fight against terrorism.
Referring to the UN study in 2014 regarding the killing of leaders and senior commanders of Haqqani Network in Afghanistan, he said that senior commanders of Haqqani Network, Taliban, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups were killed in Afghanistan this year, which indicates the whereabouts of these organisations' leadership. Commenting on Indian Prime Minister Modi's recent assertions, who once again admitted India's open involvement in the 1971 event in East Pakistan, Zakaria said that Indian interference in Pakistan is a clear violation of the provisions of UN Charter pertaining to the respect for the sovereignty of its members.
"Indian state actors' subversive activities have been proven beyond doubt," he said, adding the public confession of Kulbhushan Yadav, activities of Indian RAW and IB operatives who were working at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, proved Indian involvement in subversive activities against the country. He said that Pakistan has earlier taken up these issues with the UN Security Council and its members and will raise it on all appropriate occasions.
Asked to comment on US president-elect Donald Trump's recent anti-Muslims statement, the spokesperson said, "We need to understand that terrorists have no religion. It will be wrong to associate this phenomenon to any one religion. Importantly, Islam does not teach violence or terrorism." He added terrorism is a global phenomenon and people from various regions and nations have been perpetrating terrorism.
On the Israeli parliament's move in favour of Jewish settlement in the West Bank, he said that Pakistan strongly opposes the construction of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land and condemns all illegal activities of Israeli government, including settlements, separation wall, excavations beneath the Al Aqsa Mosque and forceful eviction of Palestinians from their homes.
Since 1967, he stated, Israel has continued settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in defiance of international law obligations. On the situation in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), he said that international community must stop Indian brutalities and bloodshed of Kashmiris. "We call upon the UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other such organisations to call India to account for its blatant violations of human rights," he said, adding more than 6,000 Kashmiris, including children, are victims of pellet guns, over 150 have been killed and more than 17,000 are injured.
He also opposed the recent move, reportedly by PDP-BJP regime, about issuing domicile certificates to non-Kashmiri Hindus in Jammu region in IHK in violation of the UNSC Resolutions. "The move is part of the regime's nefarious designs to change the demographic composition of the territory," he added.
Commenting on Indian Supreme Court's controversial verdict on Kashmir, calling it an inviolable part of India, he said that Kashmir issue is outstanding on the UNSC agenda, adding India as a state has been constantly violating the Security Council's Resolutions on Kashmir by calling it as its integral part. To another query, he said that there are 728 Pakistanis detained in various jails in the Western region of Saudi Arabia which falls under consular jurisdiction of Jeddah Consulate.
He said that legal consultants of the Consulate are providing legal aid to the Pakistani prisoners by visiting jails and deportation centres. He further said that the Consulate has repeatedly requested the Ministry of Interior to advise the agents not to issue 'Azad Visas' as there is no such category in KSA.
When asked about the details and purpose of the visit of big delegation of Qatari Royal family in the country, he expressed his inability to share the details, saying "I don't have any information at the moment available on this." Yet to another query about the number of licences issued to foreign dignitaries for hunting purposes after the Supreme Court judgement of last year, the spokesperson again stated that he has no information in this regard.