Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 23/07/2007

Record of Press Briefing on 23 July 2007

Opening Statements

US Statements

The statements and comments claiming presence of Al-Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan 's tribal areas and the possibility of US striking targets in these areas continue to be made by US officials and commentators especially following the release of National Intelligence Estimate.

We have stated in the clearest terms that any attack inside our territory would be unacceptable. Like any other country, we remain deeply concerned over the possibility of Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist entity establishing a sanctuary or regrouping or regenerating inside our territory. Our government and our security forces are determined not to permit such a development. These terrorists have threatened Pakistan , attacked our security forces, killed innocent civilians and targeted our leadership. We are therefore, combating terrorism in our own interest. We do not want our efforts to be undermined by any ill-conceived action from any quarter that is inconsistent with the principles of international law and would be deeply resented in the tribal areas and generally in Pakistan . Such action, as we have already stated, will be irresponsible and dangerous.

Pakistan and the United States are partners in the international campaign against terrorism. It would be counterproductive to create an impression of any divergences or differences on the issue of counter-terrorism or take any step detrimental to our counter-terrorism cooperation. The basis of our cooperation is well-defined and well-understood. All counter-terrorism measures inside Pakistan will be taken by our own security forces. We are committed and we will take firm action on the basis of information gathered by us through our own means or concrete and actionable intelligence shared with us. For the success of our counter-terrorism endeavours, it is important to focus on effective cooperation and coordination rather than talk of actions that would further complicate our ongoing efforts to fight Al-Qaeda and other terrorist elements.

King Zahir Shah's Passing Away

The President and Prime Minister have condoled the passing away of King Zahir Shah. The news has saddened us as he was an eminent personality of our region who played an important role as head of the Afghan nation for more than four decades.

Lebanese Prime Minister's call

The Lebanese Prime Minister telephoned the President and Prime Minister to express solidarity in the wake of terrorist attacks in Pakistan and to support Pakistan 's effort to fight terrorism. The leaders also discussed bilateral relations and reiterated their commitment to further strengthen bilateral relations

Question/Answer Session

Asked, for comments about the Indo US nuclear deal, the Spokesperson said:

Pakistan 's position on the US-India nuclear agreement is well-known. First, we share the concerns of security analysts that the agreement would help bolster India 's nuclear weapons capability. We will continue to watch the situation closely.

Secondly and more importantly, we believe that access to civilian nuclear technology should be non-discriminatory and criteria-based. As a fast growing economy, Pakistan 's energy needs are increasing. Nuclear power generation is part of our strategy to enhance Pakistan 's energy security. As we have stated before, we are prepared to accept all IAEA safeguards for civilian nuclear power plants. Our existing civilian nuclear power plants are already under the IAEA safeguards. We also support the idea of establishing of nuclear parks for supply of electricity.

Asked, with reference to her statement about any possibility of threats of US strikes inside Pakistan being totally unacceptable to the Government of Pakistan, if that means Pakistan would meet any such attack with full force whether it came from US or any other country, the Spokesperson said:

First of all no threat has been issued. As our statement also mentions, there is some talk of such a possibility. How Pakistan would react, at this stage this discussion is hypothetical.

Asked, to elaborate on what Pakistan was doing at the diplomatic or any other level to prevent any possibility of US attacks inside Pakistan, and if Pakistan had formally communicated its concerns to the US and if the US ambassador had been summoned to the Pakistan Foreign Office for this purpose, the Spokesperson said:

I think this question was asked at the last briefing as well and if you recall I had said that we have frequent and regular contacts both at the diplomatic level and in the context of campaign against terrorism between the military officials. Obviously if we are articulating our position publicly then it is known to the US also.

Asked, for comments about statement by Mirwaiz that if there is no solution of the Kashmir dispute soon, the situation in Kashmir would be disastrous, the Spokesperson said:

As I have said repeatedly we do not comment on statements of individual leaders. Kashmir as you know is being discussed by Pakistan and India at various levels. Of course, Kashmiris continue to articulate their concerns about the human rights situation also and we are mindful of this situation and of course the Government of Pakistan would like to see early, forward movement on this issue.

Asked, to comment on the preparedness of Pakistani armed forces if there was a hypothetical attack or infiltration on the Western border of the country by US or any other country in the light of the series of US statements issued recently, the Spokesperson said:

As regards operational preparedness I do not think the question belongs to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you should ask DG ISPR. Again you are discussing a hypothetical situation.

Asked, if it would still be regarded as hypothetical if India threatened Azad Kashmir and what Pakistan position would be in such a case, the Spokesperson said:

There is no such threat. We are not aware of it. Our position is very clear on that. If you start indulging in a discussion on hypothetical situations and hypothetical responses, then perhaps we could do that for the next 24 hours.

Asked, for comments about the fact that she had spoken of Al Qaeda in general in her opening statement while the US statements referred specifically to the presence of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan and if the US could act on the basis of that information, the Spokesperson said:

If you look at our previous statement, we have made it clear that we have absolutely no information about Osama bin Ladin's location and our statement of today also says that if there is indeed some precise information, it should be shared with us. We will take action. The parameters of our cooperation are well defined and well understood. Any action to be taken inside our territory is to be taken by our security forces. That is the basis of our cooperation. Secondly, we have our own intelligence gathering and we take action on the basis of that and if the US or any other country has any concrete evidence to share, any actionable intelligence, they should share it with us and we will take action. It is not sufficient to say that Osama Bin Laden is alive and is present in this part of Pakistan or that part of Pakistan .

Asked for comments about reports about military cooperation between Pakistan and the US and the tribal areas and also that the Boston Globe had reported that the provincial Government of NWFP had sought aid from the US to strengthen FC for effectively countering terrorism, the Spokesperson:

Well, we have said on this forum many times and US officials have also been announcing this when they come here so this should not come as a surprise that US had been helping us in building our counter-terrorism capacity. The Administration is seeking Congressional approval to provide assistance to Pakistan and some assistance has already been given to strengthen our law enforcement agencies and also to increase the capacity of the FC.

When it was pointed out that this was not the first time Pakistan was facing such situations and that in the past US and allied forces had hit targets inside Pakistan which Pakistan had protested, and if this was repeated, would Pakistan invoke international law to protest an infringement on its sovereignty, the Spokesperson said:

You would recall that NATO forces had acknowledged that some rockets fell in our area because of which civilians were killed and we protested against the killing of our civilians and we condemned it. We stressed the need for better cooperation especially when they are launching operations in Afghanistan close to our border.

Asked to elaborate about the World Bank report which had deemed the security conditions inside Pakistan unsatisfactory, the Spokesperson said:

I have not seen the report but I know about it. Recently we have had certain problems. There have been a number of suicide attacks. We are trying to curb this problem. We are trying to increase and strengthen our security and we hope the situation would stabilize and the international community would take note of that.

Asked, about the fact that the peace deal in the tribal areas remained a cause of concern for the US especially with the current situation and whether we were mindful of the US concerns when these talks were being held, the Spokesperson said:

First of all, for problems inside our territory, we are the best judge of how to deal with them. We have a comprehensive strategy to tackle the issue of terrorism and tackle the issue of extremism and that comprehensive strategy includes political and administrative actions, economic development and military action where necessary. The deal in North Waziristan was part of that and our view has been that the deal was helpful. As the President said, even if the deal worked 20% that is something we would like to pursue.

Asked, citing the apprehensions of journalists as concerned citizens about the recent US statements and resultant fears of possibility of an invasion, how the Government of Pakistan was looking at the whole scenario and whether it was feeling threatened or worried about the series of statements, the Spokesperson said:

We have also seen the statements. Yes, journalists are concerned citizens but my request to you is not be sensational citizens. We have to be responsible. We have to be mature and we have to be confident.