Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit. – File Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan made it clear on Thursday that US sanctions against Iran would not affect its stance on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project

“There is no change in our stance and we are working to complete the project by 2014. We believe that this project is beyond the scope of relevant UN resolutions which we are obliged to comply with like all other UN member states,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at the weekly press briefing.

Answering a question, he said there was no disengagement between the United States and Pakistan and the two countries were engaged through diplomatic channels.

He said that interaction at the political level was on hold and would resume only after the completion of parliamentary process under way to rewrite the terms of engagement with the US and Nato.

He parried questions about Pakistan’s role in the talks US was holding with Taliban and if either of them shared with Islamabad what had transpired during their contacts, but stressed the importance of reconciliation in Afghanistan for the country’s long-term stability.

He said reconciliation in Afghanistan had been Pakistan’s top priority.

“We have always categorically said that we will be supporting an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process. This continues to be our position. We will support any effort that leads to reconciliation and political stability in Afghanistan.”

When asked to comment on reports that some officials of the Foreign Office were directly involved in the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, he said he was unaware of any such engagement.

About acquisition of a nuclear submarine by India from Russia, he said all countries of the region should make conscious efforts to avoid an arms race as the region was suffering from poverty and disease and stressed that the focus should be on economic development because millions of people were still living below the poverty line.

The spokesman said Pakistan-Russia relations were significantly improving and Pakistan was trying to expand their scope. He confirmed that Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar would soon visit Afghanistan, but said a date for visit was yet to be finalised.

Asked if the planned visit indicated a thaw between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the wake of political scenario after the assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, he said Pakistan always wished Afghanistan peace and stability and would keep on contributing towards this end.

He dispelled the impression that the visit meant a shift from multilateral to bilateral contacts and stressed that bilateral and trilateral processes complemented each other.

“We are not supplanting the one with the other. We have always tried to build strong bilateral relations with Afghanistan. We have also pursued other tracks to promote peace in Afghanistan. These bilateral, trilateral or multilateral tracks are not mutually exclusive.”

Asked if there was any specific plan for the return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan by the end of 2012, he said Pakistan would like to engage more intensely on the issue with the international community. He said Pakistan strongly believed that Afghan refugees should go back to their homeland and was engaged with the international community and the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Asked to comment on reports that Pakistan was forcing the UNHCR and the Afghan government for early return of refugees, he said Pakistan was insisting on them to come up with a tenable and workable plan for early return of the refugees, but was not forcing Afghan refugees to go back.

Referring to the US announcement about release all prisoners from the Bagram base in Afghanistan, he said there were 30 Pakistani prisoners at Bagram.

“Our embassy in Kabul is in touch with US officials in Kabul. There has been some progress. I would like to underscore that our mission in Kabul is working overtime to ensure the return of our prisoners from Afghanistan.”

Asked if the foreign minister would attend the conference on Afghanistan to be held in Tokyo in July, he said the matter was discussed during last week’s meeting between Japan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the foreign minister.

“We are still waiting for details from Tokyo about the conference. We wish the conference well to achieve its objectives. There is no decision yet about the level of participation from Pakistan.”

When asked what role Pakistan could play to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia closer, Mr Basit said Pakistan would like promotion of solidarity among Muslim countries.

“This has been our stance since the creation of Pakistan and we have worked for causes dear to Muslims as a whole.”