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ISLAMABAD, July 26: Pakistan said on Saturday it was watching the activities of Indian consulates in Afghan cities close to its border with anxiety.
Answering a question about Islamabad’s complaints about the activities of Indian consulates in Afghan cities, foreign office spokesman Masud Khan said: “We are watching them with anxiety, with deep concern. Their activities are known and they are there to disrupt relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
He said the Indian missions had made “concerted efforts to drive a wedge between the two countries” and that Pakistan had conveyed its concerns to the Afghan authorities, including President Karzai and Interior Minister Ali Ahmed Jalali, who was in Islamabad earlier this week.
“There have been denials and disavowals, but at the same time we remain concerned and I think that this concern has to be addressed by...the Afghan government,” the spokesman said.
Mr Khan said Pakistan had still not taken a decision about sending any troops to Iraq as requested by the United States and Britain to be part of a stabilization force.
He said the matter was reviewed at a high-level meeting earlier this week that was attended by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Jamali and “remains under constant review”.
ENVOYS CONFERENCE: The spokesman said a conference of Pakistani ambassadors from important regions of the world would be held in Islamabad on July 28-31 to review the country’s foreign policy.
He said some 20 ambassadors from the United States, Europe, Middle East, South Asia, China and Japan, would “look at most pressing issues...and the challenges that we have before us”, including the situation in South Asia.
FAZL’S VISIT: He said Pakistan was more focused on Track-I diplomacy with India and the recent visit of MMA leader Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman to New Delhi was in his private capacity, adds APP.
He said the Maulana had gone to India at the invitation of Jamiat-ulema-Hind and he was not the government’s official emissary. The Pakistan government, he said, was not focused on Track-I diplomacy.
