Pakistan and Kazakhstan on Friday held the inaugural session of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and exchanged views on enhancing bilateral engagements in diverse areas including commerce, banking, connectivity, education, people-to-people contacts, and security and defence.

According to Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, Pakistan side was led by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, while First Deputy Foreign Minister Shakhrat Nuryshev led the Kazakh side. Bilateral Political Consultations is an important mechanism between the two foreign ministries to review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and explore new avenues for future cooperation.

The consultations focused on boosting bilateral engagement in diverse areas such as commerce, banking, connectivity, education, people-to-people contacts, and security and defence. Importance of increased high-level contacts and parliamentary exchanges was underlined in this context.

The foreign secretary briefed the Kazakh side on the positive developments in the political and economic landscape of Pakistan, including the headway made in creation of an enabling business environment, Pakistan's elevated credit ratings, stable economic outlook, and increasingly recognized potential in tourism and investments.

The foreign secretary apprised the Kazakh side of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) and the negative impact of India's belligerent rhetoric and aggressive actions.

He stressed the need for the international community to play its role in facilitating peaceful solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.