ISLAMABAD, Feb 15: The cancellation of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s visit to Iran has demonstrated the failure of government’s foreign policy.

PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar in a statement issued on Saturday said that it was clear that Mr Jamali was to visit Iran as the messenger of the military rulers. Therefore, the cancellation of the visit should be seen as a rebuff and set back to the military rulers, he added.

“It is a failure of foreign policy that despite joining the war against terror, Islamabad continues to face isolation. Relations with Washington are clouded over reports, denied by Islamabad, that it had exported nuclear technology to North Korea,” he claimed.

Mr Babar said that the PPP government had put into place, “no export of nuclear technology” policy to safeguard Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

He said: “It is worrying that our neighbour and friend, Iran, is drawing closer to New Delhi as is evident from the visit of President Khatami to India, during which the two countries signed a new defence pact.

“The new defence pact between Iran and India has upset the strategic balance. Under the pact reached between the two countries each can use other’s logistic facilities.

“All these developments bring into focus the dismal failure of the foreign policy, if there ever was one under the military rulers.”