Talks on Wullar barrage deferred: No US guard at any nuclear site: FO
By Qudssia Akhlaque
ISLAMABAD, April 17: Pakistan-India talks on Wullar Barrage scheduled for April 18-19 in Islamabad have been postponed and new dates will be announced soon.
This was stated by Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam at her weekly news briefing here on Monday.
She said that Islamabad had shared ideas with the United States on best practices concerning protection of sensitive nuclear material but rejected an impression that Pakistan had agreed to deploy ‘American guards’ at its nuclear facilities.
“The reason for postponement (of the barrage talks) is that the Indian secretary of water and power has some other commitment and could not make it on these dates,” she said.
Answering a question, she said: “We should not read too much into it as it is just a matter of some dates clashing.”
Asked if the postponement of the talks would impact on the rest of the schedule for the composite dialogue with India, she said effort would be made to ensure that scheduled meetings were not disturbed.
Answering another question, she said that there were still ‘no dates’ for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Pakistan.
“There are no American guards at any Pakistani (nuclear) facility,” Ms Aslam said while answering yet another question.
“Our cooperation with the US is basically in the context of the wide-ranging regional security dialogue that we have had with the US.”
Ms Aslam said that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pakistan participated in multilateral programmes aimed at enhancing nuclear material security worldwide. “We can undertake any bilateral effort in that direction,” she added.
When asked if a man accompanying US Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns on his recent trip to Pakistan was allowed to visit Dr A. Q. Khan, she said: “No, no there was no visit. Our position on the question of giving access to Dr. A.Q. Khan is very clear and very categorical.”
Answering another question, she said there might be lobbies in India and Pakistan which may not want to see the Indo-Pakistan peace process move ahead.
On the growing nature of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence cooperation, she avoided going into the specifics and said it was an ongoing process.
During the Saudi crown prince’s visit here last week, she said, the two sides had discussed the defence relations but did not sign any agreement.
TRANSIT FACILITY: On the issue of providing transit facility for Afghanistan-bound Indian goods, she said Pakistan had allowed all countries including India to use transit route via Karachi and ‘If India wishes, that route is available.’
However, she said on overland transit trade facility to India, Pakistan’s stated position was: “This issue is related to overall trade between Pakistan and India which is a part of the discussions in the composite dialogue process.”
She said Pakistan had provided overland transit facility to Afghanistan.
On Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s statement on tripartite cooperation on terrorism among Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, Ms Aslam said: “Pakistan is fighting terrorism and we are a part of global effort to fight terrorism.”
RAW: The FO spokesperson did not give a clear answer when asked about the foreign ministry’s position on ruling PML Secretary-General Senator Mushahid Hussain’s statement that Indian foreign intelligence agency RAW had trained about 600 Baloch tribal dissidents in Afghanistan.
Her initial response was that she had not seen the statement and, therefore, could not comment on it. However, she added: “But if he has made the statement, he is a responsible person. He also heads the foreign relations committee of the Senate. He must have some reasons for making that statement.”
IRAN: On the Iranian president’s declaration that his country was now a member of nuclear club, the spokesperson said regardless of the claim, the Iranian nuclear issue needed to be peacefully resolved through dialogue.
Reiterating that Pakistan was opposed to the use of force (against Iran), she said: “We hope that all sides will exercise restraint. We also hope that all concerned will abide by their international obligations.”
HAMAS: Asked whether Pakistan would extend financial assistance to the Hamas-led Palestinian government in the wake of suspension of aid by Western countries, she said: “We have not received any specific request for assistance. However, we have ongoing cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and that is continuing.”
UAE VISIT: On President Musharraf’s visit to the UAE, the FO spokesperson said he had been invited to watch Pakistan-India one-day cricket matches to be played for raising funds for earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan. She said he may have some bilateral meetings there also.
