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| 06 July 2004 | Tuesday | 17 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Delhi talks 'a good beginning': FO
ISLAMABAD, July 5: Pakistan said on Monday that the two rounds of talks held in Delhi on nuclear confidence-building measures were 'a good beginning'.
However, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan would not speculate on the eventual outcome of the current composite dialogue on peace and security between India and Pakistan.
Answering questions at his weekly press briefing, the spokesman stressed that one should not be carried away by 'hypo-diplomacy' because in the period ahead, six to eight weeks, both sides were still to conduct negotiations like mature nations, carefully and cautiously staying on course in discussions on issues of nuclear and conventional CBMs, and peace and security.
He said that during the ensuing talks at appropriate levels, both sides had to create an enabling environment for dialogue and a process that was result-oriented, leading to moves to "a solution of waxing problems and difficult issues that divided India and Pakistan".
That stage, he indicated, would be reached hopefully some time in August when foreign ministers of the two countries would get together for a review of the talks thus far held in order to hold sustained dialogue.
The spokesman said Pakistan had not given any understanding or tacit approval to the construction of a fencing to the Indian authorities on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian violations would be brought before the United Nations since the construction on the LoC was contrary to bilateral agreement of 1949 and the international commitment made in 1952.
Answering a question, the spokesman said that although Pakistan took umbrage at a recent statement of US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad who criticized Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism, instead of responding directly to Mr Khalilzad, Islamabad would prefer bringing the matter to the notice of the US State department hoping it would sort it out.
However, he asked the US ambassador to keep in mind recent statements of the top US leadership, including President Bush, and the Secretary of State, who profoundly appreciated and applauded Pakistan's key role in the war against Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Responding to a question about the admission of Pakistan to the Asean Regional Forum, the spokesman said it was a significant diplomatic development in the country's foreign relations, extending its diplomacy in south-east Asia and also developing exchanges in trade, investment and economic and political sectors in negotiations with interlocutors across the globe, including the US, Russia, Japan and several other states.
The spokesman hoped that Afghan President Hamid Karzai would be able to overcome the difficulties that he faced in completing the process of national elections as soon as possible, and ensure emergence of the first post-conflict, free and representative government in Afghanistan.
Replying to another question, he said that for the present there was no plan to establish Pakistan's diplomatic mission in Baghdad until Islamabad was absolutely sure of peace and security and of massive human reconstruction efforts in the volatile Iraq.
He pointed out that liaison offices of the two countries in Islamabad and Baghdad had been serving as an effective mode of diplomatic channel and observed that they had played a very helpful role in the release of a Pakistan truck driver from his unidentified captors.
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