ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: Pakistan on Monday declared that it would not be the first country in the region to resume nuclear testing.
“In our region we are committed not to be the first country to resume nuclear testing. This is a solemn commitment,” Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan categorically stated on Monday while articulating Pakistan’s position on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
He was answering questions at a weekly news briefing at the Foreign Office here. Responding to a question Mr Khan said Pakistan had taken note of the UN secretary-general Kofi Anan’s statement urging some countries, including Pakistan and India, to sign the CTBT. However, the spokesman did not give a direct response to the question.
IAEA RESOLUTION: Mr Khan was non-committal when asked if Pakistan supported Tehran’s contention that the resolution passed by the IAEA against Iran on Saturday was “illegal and illogical”.
He said Pakistan had a very clear position on the subject which was reflected in the voting pattern it had adopted. Reiterating that Pakistan was opposed to the referral of Iran’s nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, he said: “We would like the Iranian nuclear question to be resolved within the IAEA framework, we would not want any instability in our neighbourhood and we would not like to see the use of force or any pressure applied on any side.” He then added that there should also be respect for rights and obligations of all parties.
COMPOSITE DIALOGUE: In reply to a question he said the Indo-Pakistan composite dialogue was on track. “There is movement on several aspects of the composite dialogue process in the economic and cultural fields with some Kashmir-related CBMs as well, he observed.
BILATERAL TALKS: Mr Khan announced that the civil aviation authorities of Pakistan and India and communication secretaries of the two countries will be holding talks simultaneously in Islamabad and New Delhi on September 27-28.
He said from Pakistan a nine-member delegation headed by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Communications would be going to India for talks on initiation of bus service between Lahore-Amritsar and Nankana Sahib-Amritsar.
“The two sides will work out the modalities and frequency of the bus operations,” he informed the news briefing.
FMs MEETING: Mr Khan said the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India will review progress on the composite dialogue process when they meet in Islamabad next month. When asked about Pakistan’s expectations of the upcoming meeting he said he would rather not prejudge its outcome.
PAKISTANI PRISONERS: When the spokesman’s attention was drawn to reports about the sorry state of some 40 civilian Pakistani prisoners who have been recently repatriated from Indian jails, he said it was most unfortunate that Pakistanis who had either overstayed their visas and strayed across the border had been subjected to such maltreatment that they had lost their state of mind. “It is very sad to see these people in deranged state of mind and this has been extremely painful for all of us,” he stated, adding: “If we want to promote people to people contact and create a good atmosphere this kind of a thing should be avoided.”
APHC DEMAND: On Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s demand that full membership be granted to the APHC, the Foreign Office spokesman said it was basically up to the OIC countries to collectively take a decision on this question. He pointed out that currently OIC’s membership was open only to countries and not organizations. Therefore at present the OIC had only granted the observer status to APHC as it had to some other organizations, he added.
However, the spokesman emphasized that the OIC that was undergoing restructuring could only decide if it would like to change its rules and criteria to enable organizations to also assume full membership.
ISRAELI ATTACKS: Spokesman Naeem Khan was guarded in his comments on the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza. “We are opposed to violence and we would like that there should be no violence there as it is not in the interest of peace in the Middle East,” was his measured response to questions about it. When pointedly asked if Pakistan condemned these attacks, Mr Khan was evasive and merely repeated his earlier statement.
He refused to offer any comments on the announcement by Hamas that it would cease missile attacks on Israel, saying it was a matter between Hamas and Israel.
Mr Khan insisted that as of now there was no change in Pakistan’s official position on Israel and rejected reports that Pakistan was about to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
“The matter is where it was after the meeting between the two foreign ministers and no such action is being contemplated to go that far and establish diplomatic relations with Israel,” he emphasized.
The spokesman denied reports about nomination of an ambassador for Israel, pointing out that Pakistan still did not recognize the state of Israel.
FENCING: Mr Naeem Khan told the news briefing that a formal official response from Kabul was still awaited on Pakistan’s proposal of fencing some segments of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He underscored that the proposal had been mooted in the spirit of cooperation in order to address complaints from the Afghan side about illegal crossings into Afghanistan and people interfering in its internal affairs.
“It is in no way meant to create difficulties for the people on both sides of the border,” he emphasized, adding that Pakistan considered its relations with Afghanistan very important and would like to see normalcy, peace and stability in the country.
The spokesman denied reports about a delegation of US senators visiting the NWFP to discuss the fencing issue. He said there was no such visit on the cards.
In response to a question he maintained that Pakistan’s position on the Durand Line was very clear. “It (Durand Line) is an internationally recognized border which was established between Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1921, so this border is not subject to any controversy,” he asserted.
“You can pick up any atlas of the world and you will find it for yourself where the border lies. The border lies where it is today,” he added.
PAK-UK CONSULTATIONS: Mr Khan told the briefing that UK’s Permanent Undersecretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sir Michael Jay was in Islamabad to hold the annual Pakistan-UK bilateral consultations.
He said the Pakistani side would be led by foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan. “Both sides would be discussing the follow-up of joint statements issued by President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Tony Blair after their meetings in London in November 2004 and in New York this month,” he stated.
The two sides would also review the regional and global situation and the proposed extradition treaty between Pakistan and UK would also be discussed. He said the draft of the treaty had been finalized but would be signed at a later stage.
On Tuesday, he said, Pakistan-EU Troika consultations will be held in Islamabad. These consultations are also an annual feature. The EU delegation will also be led by the British Undersecretary Sir Michael Jay as UK currently holds the EU presidency.
