Progress on Siachen issue expected: FO: Afghan foreign minister due soon
By Qudssia Akhlaque
ISLAMABAD, May 15: Pakistan on Monday said it expected progress on the Siachen issue at the defence secretary-level talks with India in New Delhi next week. “What we expect from these (Siachen) talks is progress. I would not like to prejudge the outcome but our expectations remain that we will be able to move forward,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing here while responding to questions.
She declined to comment on the recent Indian statements on the Siachen issue, saying it was an internal debate.
When asked if the testing of Agni III would have any security implications for Pakistan she said: “We do not want an arms race, nuclear or conventional, in this region. We are exercising restraint but we are very alive to our security concerns and we are ready to meet our security requirements.”
Commenting on media reports that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be visiting Pakistan next month, she said: “We have no information.”
AFGHAN FM: Refuting the Afghan foreign minister’s claim that Osama Bin Laden was on Pakistan side of the border, the spokesperson said: “Nobody knows where Osama Bin Laden is. If he is alive, the chances are that he might be in Afghanistan.” When asked about the basis of that presumption, she said it was mere speculation. “Everyone is speculating about Osama bin Laden and I’m also saying that one speculation is as good as the other.”
Rejecting the Afghan foreign minister’s allegation that Pakistan was making only half-hearted efforts, she underscored that Pakistan had sacrificed more in terms of human lives than the combined loss of Afghanistan and ISAF. Terming such allegations absurd, she asserted: “If anyone is making half-hearted efforts, it’s on the other side.”
The spokesperson stressed that the Afghans needed to concentrate on taking action on their side instead of levelling accusations against Pakistan. “If they have any evidence they should share it with Pakistan. Levelling wild and outlandish accusations does not help anyone,” Ms Aslam said.
However, she said these were minor irritants that would not jeopardise Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, saying: “These can be discussed and removed.”
She informed the briefing that the Afghan foreign minister was likely to visit Pakistan shortly.
“We look forward to the Afghan foreign minister’s visit,” the Spokesperson said.
AMIR PROBE: Ms Aslam said that Pakistani investigators, who had participated in the probe into the death of Pakistani student Amir Nazir Cheema, would submit their report to the government on their return to Pakistan.
Commenting on calls for snapping diplomatic ties with Germany, she said: “Pakistan and Germany have good bilateral multi-faceted cooperation and we do hope that this incident would not have a negative impact on these relations.”
A.Q. KHAN: Reffering to a Washington Times report that quoted a Congress report and claimed Pakistan had confirmed that Dr A.Q. Khan’s network had offered nuclear technology and hardware to Syria, the spokesperson said: “The annual report to the Congress, which I have seen, and what the newspaper reported are very different.”
She reiterated that Pakistan had conducted investigations and had shared information with the IAEA and other countries.
“If anything new comes up we have made a commitment that we will investigate and share the results.”
UK: The Spokesperson disagreed with the view that the launching of Charter of Democracy in London by two former prime ministers amounted to the UK government meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
“We do not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs,” she said, adding that Pakistan did not have any extradition treaty with the UK government. She said Mr Nawaz Sharif had been given the permission to travel to London.
OIC: Asked if the OIC had any plans to help the Hamas-led Palestinian government, the spokesperson said a resolution had been approved at the OIC meeting in Jeddah last week. It, she said, urged all member states to extend immediate financial support to the elected government and the people of the state of Palestine. To become operational, the resolution would have to be adopted by the ICFM in Baku next month, she said.
SCO: Ms Aslam said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) agenda also concerned Pakistan as it was part of the region. She made it clear that Pakistan would like to be a full member of the organisation.
