Summary Foreign Office Spokesman Muazam Khan says Pakistan wants cordial ties with Afghanistan and India.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - In his weekly briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesman Muazam Khan has said that Pakistan and Canada have a pact on dual nationality and having two passports is not a crime.
He said that Philistine Authority president Mehmood Abbas would visit Pakistan on February 16 on two-day official visit. During stay in Islamabad he would talk his Pakistani counterpart and country’s leadership on the matters of mutual interests.
“Pakistan always supported Philistine cause and two state solution. We are of the view point that both Philistine and Israel should accept each other’s rights to live in peaceful coexistence”, he added.
Responding a question about the nuclear test by North Korea recently, the spokesman said that every country has full right to defend itself but there are some international obligations which should be observed. He said that Pakistan always backed the nuclear free peninsula and it objected Pyongyang’s atomic test on the plea that it did not care of international obligations.
Khan said that Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan as it would strengthen Pakistan also. There was a trust deficit between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past but now relations between two countries are moving towards right direction.
He said that US and Afghanistan would decide about the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan and Pakistan hopes that it would be a useful withdrawal. It is the Afghan led peace process and Pakistan is not the part of it.
He said that Pakistan supported the opening of office by Taliban at Doha. It also backed the idea of holding Ulema conference, which is going to take place in Kabul in first or second week of March. The conference would be helpful in bringing peace to Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan has released 28 Taliban so far.
He said that India’s concern on Gawader deep sea port is unwarranted as no country has any reason to show apprehensions on the issue. Although Pakistan and China have not reached on any deal yet but the modalities are going to be set soon. He said that China is important country and can play its role for regional peace.
Muazam said that there is no shift of policy regarding Kashmir. It is Pakistan’s old stance that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the matter should be resolved under the resolutions of UNO and according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Pakistan has taken serious view on the execution of Afzal Guru. India should stop suppressing Kashmiri people.
Responding a question regarding Osama’s killing, the FO Spokesman said that that the government has set a commission on the issue and it would be better to wait for its report. It is upto the government that it would public which parts of the report.
He said that Pakistan wants good relations with India as peace among two neighbouring country would bring prosperity in the region and trade with two would boost.
Replying another question about army officers in the Foreign Office, he said that it is the prerogative of the government to appoint diplomats on political basis. “People who do not belong to foreign services, whether they are army officials or civilians are considered as political appointments”, he added.
