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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 19/02/2007

Report of Press Briefing on 19 February, 2007

Opening Statement

President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have strongly condemned the despicable terrorist act aboard Samjotha Express in which a number of precious lives have been lost. They have sympathized with the families of the innocent victims. Most of the passengers on the train were Pakistanis. The Federal Government has instructed the relevant departments and the Punjab Government to facilitate the travel of family members of Pakistani passengers to Panipat. Special buses are being arranged to take the relatives, wishing to travel to Panipat, to Wahga border. A five-member team of officials from our High commission in Delhi has been dispatched to Panipat to provide relief to Pakistani nationals. We are in contact with the Indian authorities to bring back the injured Pakistani citizens and bodies of the victims of the terrorist act.

Pakistan expects the Indian Government to conduct thorough investigations into the terrorist attack, share the results of investigations with Pakistan and punish those responsible for this heinous crime in which a large number of Pakistanis have been killed. It is our expectation that measures shall be taken by the Indian authorities to ensure security of the train inside their territory. Probably you are aware that of the 10 Pakistanis injured – 8 men and 2 women have been taken to Delhi. Our officials are looking after them. Out of the total of estimated 757 passengers more then 550 are believed to be Pakistanis. The Government of Pakistan has announced rupees five lakh for the dead and rupees one lakh for the injured. We are ready to dispatch C-130 with medical staff to bring back the injured. We are awaiting permission from the Indian side.

Question/Answer Session

Asked about the names of dead and injured Pakistanis in the train tragedy, the Spokesperson said:

I do not have the names. Our High Commission officials are at the hospital where the dead and injured have been brought. There may be many more. As I said there were more than 550 Pakistani passengers. Identities of all of them have not been established as yet. It may take some time since many of them were not traveling on advanced reserved seats. However, we are already in the process. Our five officials are already in Panipat and our Mission in New Delhi is also in touch with the Indian authorities. We would release the names as soon as we have the information. The death toll so far is 66.

Asked about the type of existing security arrangements on the Samjotha Express to deal with this type of acts of terrorism, the Spokesperson said:

There are security officials on the train. We expect the Indian authorities to investigate. We also expect them to share with us the results of their investigations because it involves a large number of Pakistanis. There are reports that after the search, the train compartments were sealed, that is why a lot of people had difficulty in escaping. I do not know the exact mechanism. I don't know how they ensure security on either side or whether the compartments were actually sealed. Perhaps our railway authorities can shed some light on this. However, we expect that after this incident that the Indians would take whatever measures are required to ensure security. We would of course take measures on our side to strengthen security o9f the train, which carries people from both countries mainly, people traveling to meet their relatives in the other country.

Asked whether the train was specifically targeted because it was predominantly who were on the train, the Spokesperson said:

I would not like to prejudge the motives and comment on something I do not know anything about. We will await the results of the investigations. Let the investigators do their work. At the moment, we cannot rule out that possibility.

Asked whether this specific act of terrorism would come up in the March 6 anti-terrorism mechanism meeting between Pakistan and India, the Spokesperson said:

The anti-terrorism mechanism meeting is taking place on 06 March soon after this attack. The purpose of this mechanism is to share information and to help each other prevent terrorist acts. Naturally, this terrorist attack will be discussed.

Asked if Foreign Minister Kasuri was trying to match his Indian counterpart by visiting India in a chartered plane although the latter's use of chartered plane was much criticized in India, the Spokesperson said:

The Foreign Minister is going to India for the Joint Commission's meeting. He has very busy schedule. He has undertaken a number of visits recently and he has very important engagements in Pakistan at the moment. His time is precious and the purpose here is to save the Foreign Minister's time. Traveling by commercial flight would have taken him at least 24 extra. Hence the decision to travel by a special flight. It has nothing to do with what Mr. Mukherjee did or what anyone else does.

Asked about an update on the IPI gas pipeline project, the Spokesperson said:

The price has been agreed more or less and the process is underway for finalizing the project.

Asked whether this recent act of terrorism would cast its shadow on the Pakistan-India peace process, the Spokesperson said:

Our position is very clear - the terrorist acts in either country should not be allowed to derail the peace process. This is our conviction. There have been many terrorist acts in Pakistan; there have been terrorist acts in India. This is an act in which a large number of innocent Pakistanis have been killed. But we believe that the peace process should not be disrupted because of terrorism incidents.

In response to a question relating to a reported statement by Governor NWFP and a press statement issued by Afghan Foreign Office on 18 February, the Spokesperson stated :

There are different aspects of what has been said. I would like to address all of those. I would start with the so-called reported statement attributed to the Governor NWFP.

The Kabul statement is based on distorted report of what the Governor NWFP had said to a delegation of foreign journalists who had recently visited Peshawar and North Waziristan. During this meeting, the Governor had mentioned what militant Taliban were saying to win the sympathies of Afghan population living in Southern and Eastern Afghanistan. Some reports had wrongly presented this as the assessment and views of the Governor himself.

The phenomenon of Talibanization is a common threat to Pakistan and Afghanistan. We are taking all measures, in our own interest, to counter the threat of Talibanization and extremism. Pakistan is also firmly committed not to allow its territory to be used for militancy and violence against Afghanistan. We are fully cooperating in this regard with NATO and Afghan forces.

No one should have any doubt about our commitment and will to fight terrorism and extremism. We have deployed more than 80000 thousand troops along our border with Afghanistan and maintain nearly 1000 military posts on the border. More than 700 of our troops have lost their lives. We are taking further steps to control the border infiltration through selective fencing. We are also seeking international assistance to remove refugee camps located close to the border to deny any hideouts to militant Taliban who are also Afghans. It is important that Pakistan as well as the NATO and Afghan forces maintain close cooperation to counter the common danger of terrorism and extremism. However, it must be emphasized that the problems of Afghanistan have to be addressed inside Afghanistan. Pakistan is doing whatever is needed to prevent any support from our bordering areas to Taliban or extremists inside Afghanistan.

As regards reports that the North Waziristan agreement has not produced results, appearing after the meeting between the Governor NWFP and foreign journalists, it needs to be stated that Pakistan is addressing the problem of Talibanization and extremism in some of the Tribal agencies in a comprehensive approach which combines military action with political and administrative measures and socio economic programme. We continue to keep the implementation of North Waziristan agreement under review and would plug in any shortcomings and would take firm action where needed to ensure compliance. As the President said that if the agreement is working even 25%, it is worth pursuing. Our effort would be to rectify the weaknesses. We strongly reject aspersions against authorities in Pakistan and their commitment to combat the menace of extremism and terrorism as well as to help Afghanistan re-establish peace and stability.

In response to yet another question about the Panipat incident, the Spokesperson said:

I have already said what I had to say. Even in the past terrorist acts allegations have been made but there was no evidence from anyone that any Pakistani individual or entity was involved. Terrorists are everywhere. The Mumbai terrorist act was unfortunate, and we condemned that, but soon after the terrorist attack, allegations were made and fingers were pointed against Pakistan but till this day there is no evidence. Terrorism has two dimensions. There are domestic impulses and there are international terrorist networks. When we are investigating terrorist acts we must look at both dimensions. It is in everybody's interest to counter terrorism in whatever form by whomever it is committed.

When her comments were sought on the US General Ikenberry's statement suggesting that the only option before the US in Afghanistan is to directly attack the so-called terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan, the Spokesperson said:

There were also some other statements by the same General, acknowledging Pakistan's contribution. About hot pursuit, we have already made our position very clear. You can refer to our earlier statements on this subject.

Asked about the schedule of the Foreign Minister's visit and whether he had extended his visit to India, the Spokesperson said:

Let me dispel the impression; there was a report in one newspaper that the Foreign Minister has decided to extend his visit to India. This is absolutely incorrect. The Foreign Minister would go to New Delhi on 21 February and will return on 23 February. He will have talks with his counterpart. He would meet the Indian leadership; he would meet the Kashmiri leaders. Besides, he would also interact with the media. The programme is being finalized. A number of meetings have been lined up.

Asked about the reasons for summoning of Pakistan's Ambassador to Iran by the Iranian Government and if Iran had also started blame-game against Pakistan, the Spokesperson said:

The Ambassador was not summoned. Our Ambassador in Tehran had a meeting with Ambassador Rasool Islami, Head of the Asia Desk in the Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 February. In the meeting, bomb blasts in Zahidan were discussed which we condemn; the cooperation between the two countries in counter-terrorism was also discussed. The Iranian side shared their preliminary information about the bomb blast and discussed security cooperation with Pakistan to check criminals, drug-peddlers, smugglers and terrorists operating in the bordering areas of these three countries. Pakistan will continue to fully cooperate with Iranian authorities to curb the activities of these elements. We have excellent relations and counter-terrorism cooperation with Iran.

Iran has not accused Pakistan of sheltering or supporting any terrorists as claimed by a section of the media. I have before me the comments by the Iranian Foreign Office Spokesman and I quote:

‘Pakistani Government does not support such terrorist acts, and is willing to hold security of the border'

Asked whether Pakistan subscribed to the OIC Secretary General's call for the formation of an OIC peacekeeping force, the Spokesperson said:

There are many ideas. We would support a role by the UN in the form of the UN Peacekeeping forces or forces from some Muslim countries. There are various ideas. The Secretary General has made these proposals in his personal capacity. The 7 Foreign Ministers' meeting on 25 February in Islamabad will discuss various ideas. As you are aware the situation in Iraq is on the agenda of the meeting. The situation in Iraq would be discussed in all aspects.

Asked if Pakistan agreed with the US view not to engage with the national unity government in Palestine and would Pakistan, as part of its Middle East initiative, urge the US to change its position, the Spokesperson said:

We have supported the outcome of the Makkah Accord, and the reconciliation between Palestinian groups. We would urge the international community to remove sanctions, restore the economic assistance to the Palestinian national unity government and strengthen their authority.

Asked about the imposition of ban on Al-Rasheed and Al-Akhter Trusts by the Government despite the earlier appreciation they had received from President Musharraf for their contribution in the earthquake rescue efforts and whether this was done because these organizations were proscribed by the US and Al-Rasheed Trust case was before a court, the Spokesperson said:

Irrespective of the good work any organization may be doing, irrespective of the kind of evidence that may be available to support the allegations that any entity is involved in terrorist activities, once an organization/entity is listed on the UN Sanctions Committee under the UNSC resolution 1267, all members if the UN and their governments are required to comply with the decision. The recent actions by the Ministry of Interior were essentially to reinforce the earlier measures that had been taken to freeze the accounts of these organizations, to close their offices and projects and their websites. There were some reports that they may have reopened some of their offices. This action has been taken in compliance with the UN Security Council resolution. For any entity on the list, the door to appeal against that decision and the option to seek de-listing is open.

The President's appreciation of their work was in the context of the 2005 earthquake. The magnitude of that disaster was such that the whole Pakistani nation was mobilized; everyone was contributing. It was a very extraordinary situation, and individuals belonging to some listed organizations may also have participated in the relief work. But that was in the context of that extraordinary situation and in their individual capacities, but under the UN Security Council resolution 1267, the Government of Pakistan has to make sure that they do not raise funds; their accounts are frozen and their websites are disabled and their offices are closed. We do not consider any organization as terrorist entity if it is only proscribed by the US Administration under US law. But if an entity is on the UN Sanctions Committee, we are required to take action. As you know, if there is a conflict between national law and international obligations then we would have to comply with the latter.

Asked about the details of the proposal for forces from the Muslim countries, the Secretary General's proposal for Muslim forces and whether this would be discussed at the forthcoming Meeting and dates for Summit, the Spokesperson said:

We have not floated this proposal. You may talk to the Secretary General about his proposal. What I said was that when the Foreign Ministers meet, they will discuss the situation in Iraq; this is on the agenda of their meeting. They may consider various ideas and options.

Our press releases mention the agenda and the list of the participants which are available on the Ministry's website. Kindly check the website. All this information is there. A summit meeting has been announced which Saudi Arabia is going to host. I do not have the dates for the Summit but the forthcoming meeting is a preparatory meeting for the Summit.

Asked to confirm the February 26 meeting between Pakistan and India to discuss the issue of Siachen, the Spokesperson said:

You would recall that when the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India met in Islamabad, they agreed to instruct their officials to meet at the earliest to discuss various ideas about Siachen. We had approached the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, but we have no response from the Indian side regarding this meeting as yet.