ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: Brushing aside the speculations about efforts to marginalise Iran and Syria, Pakistan on Monday said foreign ministers of seven `like-minded’ Muslim countries did not form a bloc against any country.
"It was not against anyone and not at the behest of anyone. Pakistan will not work at the behest of others against some other country", Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly press briefing here.
Ms Aslam categorically said that the purpose of the group was not to exclude anyone, adding that President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri had interaction with the leadership of Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
She said that it was an ongoing process and everyone was being consulted with the sole objective of giving a momentum to the peace efforts.
US AID: She termed speculative a report in the US media that US President George Bush had decided to send an unusually tough message to President Musharraf, warning him that the newly Democratic Congress could cut aid to Pakistan unless his forces become far more aggressive in hunting down Al Qaeda operatives.
When asked to comment on a proposal for a weaker requirement of certification by the US president for continuation of aid to Pakistan, Ms Aslam said Pakistan would not accept any conditionality. She, however, said there were three versions of legislation and none of them had been finalised.
ANTI-TERRORISM MEETING: Responding to a question, Ms Aslam said Pakistan expected that during a meeting of the anti-terrorism mechanism next week, Indian side would share with Pakistan the progress made in the investigation into trans-national train tragedy. "As this will be the first meeting of the mechanism, it is very important that we approach it with a constructive mindset," she remarked.
Asked whether India was sharing the information, she said the Indian prime minister had assured that they were determined to get into the bottom and share investigations with Pakistan.
She regretted that the people injured in the tragedy were questioned by the Indian authorities and added: "If there India has something very specific, it should contact us."
Asked if the use of Afghanistan by India for terrorist activities against Pakistan will also be discussed during the meeting, she said: "It is an anti-terrorism mechanism. All aspects will be discussed."
Online adds: The foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan would not allow any country, including the US, to carry out military operation in its tribal areas nor would it accept any dictation from anyone in this respect.
"Pakistan is moving ahead in tribal areas under a strategy with reference to uplift projects and other matters. We will not accept dictation from any country, including the US, nor will we allow anyone to launch military operation therein," she added.
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