ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: The Foreign Office looked satisfied on Thursday with the US State Department’s clarification on the Congressional hearing on Balochistan even as legislators protested on the issue in the Senate.

“The US State Department understands our position,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at a weekly media briefing while replying to questions about the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations’ atypical discussions on Balochistan that could put Pakistan in a tight spot.

Mr Basit said the matter was raised with the US authorities, following which the State Department clarified its position in its Wednesday briefing.

The Pakistan embassy in Washington took up its concerns with US Special Envoy Marc Grossman and a number of other Congressional leaders.

According to a diplomatic source, the strong-worded message delivered to the US authorities termed the move “ill-advised” and stressed that Balochistan was an integral part of Pakistan.

The message, whose text was shared with Dawn, said the move was tantamount to interference in internal affairs of Pakistan and could possibly ruin the normalisation of bilateral ties after November’s border incident. The parliament, which is discussing terms for re-engagement with the US, is still to ratify revival of full spectrum of bilateral relations.

A senior Pakistani diplomat, in a private discussion, used the Shakespearean line “the (most) unkindest cut of all” to describe feelings in Islamabad over the hearing, where the issue strikes at the heart of national honour.

The government strictly considers the Balochistan insurgency to be an internal matter and denies allegations of human rights abuses. It further claims that the unrest in the province has been stoked by hostile governments and their intelligence agencies.

The sudden Congressional interest in Balochistan and keyed-up condemnations by human rights groups, some believe, have serious nuances.

The State Department, after Pakistan’s diplomatic riposte, distanced itself from the hearing headed by Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who separately authored an article expressing support for an independent Balochistan.

“These hearings don’t necessarily imply that the US government endorses one view or another view. … We emphasise that the United States engages with Pakistan on a whole range of issues, including ways to foster economic development and expand opportunity in Balochistan,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland had said.

SYRIA: The spokesman justified Pakistan’s support for a West-backed Security Council resolution on Syria that was vetoed by China and Russia last week.

“There was substantial and substantive amendment to the original draft resolution on Syria which enabled Pakistan to vote in favour of the draft resolution.”

He rejected an impression that Pakistan and China had begun diverging at multilateral forums.

“Pakistan-China relations are unique and solid. One should not generalise things on the basis of voting on one Security Council resolution.”

IRAN: Mr Basit hoped that the crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme would be defused peacefully.

“We would like all the issues relating to Iran’s nuclear programme to be resolved peacefully because we cannot afford another conflict in our region. We would always advise restraint and resolution of issues through dialogue,” he said while reiterating Pakistan’s position on the aggravating crisis.