Talks with TTP Pakistan's internal matter: FO

Published February 6, 2014
Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam. — File photo
Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam on Thursday said holding talks with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was Pakistan's internal matter.

Speaking at the weekly media briefing at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Aslam said the subject that whether Pakistan would sever its alliance with the US in the 'war on terror' if the TTP listed that among its conditions for peace was a hypothetical scenario. She was responding to a question on the suggestion and said it was premature to comment on the idea which may come under discussion if and when such a demand was made.

In response to another question, Aslam said Pakistan had not demanded the US to decrease the number of drone attacks but in fact to put a stop to those.

The spokeswoman said Pakistan's view on drone attacks was clear, adding that the method was unacceptable and the country's stance on the issue had also received support from the international community.

She further said that Pakistan was in talks with India over the trucks stranded on the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC), adding that the LoC bus service had been resumed and the movement of trucks would also restart soon.

Aslam moreover told journalists that Pakistan and India had agreed to call a meeting of the official-level Joint Working Group on Trans-LoC CBMs in relation to trade across the de facto border diving Kashmir between the two countries.

Regarding an Indian prisoner who died in Karachi's Landhi jail, she said Kishan, who was in his early 50s, had been ill for quite some time and that Pakistan was in contact with the high commission in Islamabad in order to send his body back to India.

On the subject of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, the spokeswoman said the project had not been discarded, adding that due to a shortage of requisite funds, the construction of the pipeline was facing a delay.

Aslam further said that Pakistan needed more time to discuss the gas pipeline project with Iran. — DawnNews

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