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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 12/03/2007

Record of Press Briefing on 12 March 2007

Opening Statement

Prime Minister's Visit To Uzbekistan

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan from 13 to 15 March 2007. This will be the Prime Minister's first visit to the country. Earlier President Parvez Musharraf had visited Uzbekistan in March 2005. Uzbek President, Islam Karimov had returned the visit in May 2006.

During his stay in Tashkent , the Prime Minister will have a meeting with President Islam Karimov, and hold delegation level talks with his Uzbek counterpart, Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Some agreements and Memorandums of Understandings will also be signed during the visit. The Prime Ministry will meet selected members of business community and grant interviews to local media. He will also visit Samarkand and Bokhara . The Prime Minister will be accompanied by various Ministers, senior officials and a group of businessmen.

Question/Answer Session

When her comments were sought on the recently released report by the US State Department that criticized the Human Rights situation in Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

The US State Department issues an annual report on Human Rights. We have seen the report. It obviously lacks objectivity and contains inaccuracies and distortions. It fails to acknowledge the progress Pakistan has made in multiple fields and the steps taken by the Government of Pakistan to promote human rights. The Government has taken several steps in this area and we expected the US State Department report to acknowledge that.

It would be prudent for any country to avoid making critical comments on the human rights issues. Human rights are universal and this universality is applicable in all situations. No country can claim that it has a perfect human rights record as is evident from the reports of various human rights organizations in the last three or four years. These reports speak for themselves. No country is in the position to claim that its human rights record is perfect and it can sit on judgment on other countries.

Asked, with reference to her response to the previous question, about the objective of distortions in the State Department's report, the Spokesperson said:

You may ask the US State Department. It is a regular feature in many countries. They bring out reports on human rights record of other countries.

Asked what fresh ideas would be exchanged in the meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India at the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue, and if Pakistan gave any importance to the ruling Congress party's reported statement on the issue of demilitarization in the IOK, the Spokesperson said:

We have nothing to say about the internal discussions in India . We would focus on what the Indian Government has to say to Pakistan . We are concerned with what their response is to the ideas put forward by President Musharraf. I would refer to you the statement by the Indian Prime Minister in which he welcomed these ideas and emphasized the need to discuss them with an open mind.

The Foreign Secretaries will start the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue between Pakistan and India . They have two specific issues before them i.e. Jammu and Kashmir dispute and Peace and Security. On Jammu and Kashmir , it is important that we now move from the CBMs to dispute resolution. We believe that early resolution of the Kashmir issue will pave the way for durable peace in this region and bring about greater cooperation in South Asia . On Peace and Security, it encompasses both nuclear and conventional issues. There are a number of ideas on the table which include our proposal for strategic restraint which seeks to address three related issues of conventional balance, nuclear and missile restraint and conflict resolution.

We also hope that we will be able to finalize a number of agreements that have been under discussion for some time. These include speedy return of inadvertent line crossers, visa relaxation regime, and quarterly flag meetings of sector commanders. We also hope that we will be able to activate the committee on prisoners formed at Pakistan 's initiative, which, you would recall, was established when the Indian Minister for External Affairs visited Pakistan . This remains an issue which is a higher priority for us. We would like to see it addressed at the earliest.

The two sides will also work out the schedule of the meetings of the remaining six groups on Siachen, Sir Creek, Wuller Barrage, Counter-terrorism and Narcotics, Cultural exchanges and people to people contacts and Trade.

When asked to comment on the US State Department report's criticism of the human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, especially with reference to her response to an earlier question, the Spokesperson said:

Kashmir has a different status. You cannot compare that situation to a country report. Human rights violations in Kashmir have a different context as it is an occupied territory.

Asked whether there were any specific threat of attack on Pakistan because of which the Foreign Minister had to refer to Pakistan 's nuclear status, the Spokesperson said:

Despite the misunderstanding created by some sections of the media, there is no such threat.

Asked whether Pakistan 's ideas on the issues of conventional balance and missile nuclear restraint would come up for discussion between the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India , the Spokesperson said:

I have already talked about what will be discussed.

Asked whether the resolution passed by the National Assembly Defence Committee represented Government's view, the Spokesperson said:

Parliament is a sovereign body. It does not necessarily represent the Government. Members of Parliament represent the views of people who elect them. It is an independent legislative branch of the Government separate from the executive branch. It may or may not represent the views of the Government.

The legislative branch does not do things at government's prompting. Like everywhere else, the government works with the Parliament.

Asked about the dates of the Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue's meeting because she had earlier suggested that the meeting is likely to take place this month, the Spokesperson said:

Yes I had said that it is likely to be held in this month; I did not confirm the dates. We still have the same position. There are no confirmed dates for the second round of Strategic Dialogue with the US . The two sides are in touch, and as soon as the dates are confirmed, we will let you know.

Asked why Pakistan had not signed the convention on enforced disappearances given the fact that disappearances have become a serious issue and according to media reports the Chief Justice's suspension was also related to this issue, the Spokesperson said:

The international convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in November/December 2006 by consensus. Signing of any international convention requires completion of internal procedures which include detailed examination by various government departments, approval by the Prime Minister and also approval by Cabinet. We are in the process of examining the convention. I do not want to comment on the media speculations. That is not my mandate.

In response to a question about the suspension of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Spokesperson said:

This is not the forum to discuss internal issues. I am sure you are aware of that.

Asked if she could say anything beyond the Joint Statement, issued at the end of Pakistan-India Joint Anti-terrorism Mechanism's meeting, and if Pakistan was satisfied from its outcome, the Spokesperson said:

No I do not have anything to add to what was stated in the Joint Statement.

It is a mechanism that has to work away from the glare of publicity. We are happy that this meeting took place. We were able to exchange some information. The two governments would hopefully be looking into that. We will take it from there.

Asked to clarify Foreign Minister Kasuri's statement that Pakistan would not allow the use of its land for an attack on Iran and whether it meant that Pakistan 's airspace and ports could be used, the Spokesperson said:

There should be no doubt about our position. We are opposed to any military action against Iran . We do not want more conflict in this region. This region is already in great turmoil. I think the Foreign Minister's statement was quite clear.

Asked if India had responded positively regarding the evidence provided by Pakistan and what kind of evidence was provided, the Spokesperson said:

I would not go into the details of the nature of evidence we provided to India . I know there have been speculations in India . I know sources have been talking to the media there but our understanding is that we are not going to do it through media. The meeting took place on 06 March. Today is 12 March. There are no expectations that they should respond on this issue in such a short time. We hope that India would be looking into that and will do the needful.

Asked to confirm that ten Pakistani soldiers were missing inside the Afghan territory, the Spokesperson said:

I am not aware of this. You may like to address this question to DG ISPR.

Asked whether the government would bring back the person to Pakistan who had written a book against Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

I know people like him may have all kinds of motives for writing such books. I do not recall the title of the book but it is quite preposterous. Again different people can have different motives, and what motivated this particular person to make such sweeping statements and baseless assertions needs to be looked into. At the moment I am not in a position to say anything about that.

Asked if the government did not represent the people of Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

The insinuation that the Government had prompted the Parliament Defence Committee to adopt this resolution is baseless. I was clarifying that the Parliament and its Committees are independent. They make their own decisions. And of course Government works closely with the Parliament as is the practice in parliamentary democracies. I will not get into this inane discussion.

When asked to confirm that the families of the Indian prisoners of war would undertake the visit of Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

There are no Indian prisoners of war in Pakistan . But as per their claims some Indian soldiers are missing, the President of Pakistan was requested, and he said that we would allow these families to visit Pakistan . If this would assuage their concerns, and bring them some sort of closure, we have no problem with that.

In response to a question about the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice's visit to Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

Is there a visit? I am not aware of any such visit.

When her comments were sought on the statement by the US Assistant Secretary of State that the former Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Ubaidullah was arrested and then released, the Spokesperson said:

I cannot even confirm that he was arrested. There were speculations that he was arrested and then released. I am not in a position to comment on that. This question should be addressed to DG ISPR.

Asked whether Pakistan would rethink about its support to the US in the war on terror in case the anti-Pakistan legislation was passed by the US Congress, the Spokesperson said:

You are talking about a hypothetical situation. There is no legislation in the US as of now. There are various bills that are under discussion. We are working with the Administration; we are working with the Congress. We have been assured by the Administration that they would also be working with the Congress to ensure that there is no language in the final legislation which is prejudicial to Pakistan . We hope that the US Administration would live up to its commitment.