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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 7/05/2007

Transcript of Press Briefing on May 7, 2007.

Opening Statements:

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mr. Mirek Topolanek would pay an official visit to Pakistan from 8-10 th May, 2007 . The Czech Prime Minister's entourage includes Ministers of Industry and Trade and Culture, senior government officials and several businessmen. This would be the first ever visit by a Prime Minister from the Czech Republic to Pakistan .

Pakistan enjoys cordial and cooperative relations with the Czech Republic where a diplomatic mission has been set up recently.

The Czech Prime Ministers engagements in Islamabad include a call on the President and official talks with the Prime Minister. He would also meet with the Chairman Senate and inaugurate a business seminar to strengthen bilateral cooperation in investment, trade and commercial relations.

Besides, exchange of views on bilateral relations, matters of mutual interests including Pakistan-India relations and the composite dialogue process for resolution of all outstanding issues including Kashmir dispute, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Middle East and war against terrorism. Several MoUs covering bilateral cooperation in the areas of science, health, culture, diplomacy and trade would also be signed during the visit.

NATO Secretary General will visit Pakistan on 7-8 May 2005. Pakistan and NATO share the objective of enhancing regional and global peace and are partners in supporting peace and stability in Afghanistan . It may be recalled that during his visit to Brussels in January 2007, the Prime Minister had visited the NATO Headquarters and met the Secretary General of NATO. During his visit, the two sides will discuss the ways and means to further build the cooperative relations between Pakistan and NATO.

Question/Answer Session:

Asked to comment on a statement of the Human Rights Watch that President Pervez Musharraf had to make up his mind whether to stay in uniform or continue as President, as retaining the two offices was in violation of the Constitution, the Spokesperson said:

It is for Pakistan to decide what constitutes violations of our Constitution and what does not. And the President has repeatedly stated that decisions on all such domestic issues will be taken in accordance with the Constitution.

When her attention was drawn to the Prime Minister's statement about the imposition of emergency and whether foreign governments have expressed about this, the Spokesperson said:

We have not heard anyone expressing concern and we do not expect anyone to do that. Anyway, this question or any other question on domestic situation should be directed to the Ministry of Information

When asked if the question of the border fencing and the North Waziristan peace agreement would be taken up with the NATO Secretary General, the Spokesperson said:

There is no reason to take up the fencing of our border or agreement in Waziristan with any visiting dignitary. This is our internal matter. If however, there is a request we would brief him on this subjects.

Asked about the statement by the Indian Defence Minister's statement about the Siachen issue, the Spokesperson said:

There are a number of proposals for a package which include the possibility of indicating current positions as well as positions where the troops should be relocated. As part of this package, a zone of peace can be established. If the two sides succeed in working out an agreement, this will be an important confidence-building measure and an important development in the context of dispute resolution between Pakistan and India . There are also other related issues. All those who are concerned with environment know that there have been a number of reports and studies which suggest an impending environmental catastrophe as a result of melting of the glacier. The resolution of the Siachen issue would be an important step towards saving the glacier which should be a priority for both the countries.

When asked to comment on reports that Pakistan and India had agreed to identify troops' positions through a satellite survey, the Spokesperson said:

These are speculative reports.

When asked about the recent statement of Sardar Abdul Qayyum that the military training camps in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan were no longer functioning, the Spokesperson said:

There are no training camps. Azad Kashmir is an open area. Any one can go there and see.

Asked to comment on the statement of the Indian Defense Minister about status quo on Siachen, the Spokesperson said:

I have already responded to this question. If status quo was a solution to any of these problems, there would not have been any need to negotiate. But we are negotiating.

Asked to brief about the Pakistan committee on prisoners , and if any dates have been proposed for its activation, the Spokesperson said:

No dates have not been proposed. We have however, emphasized at every meeting that the committee formed by the two countries to address the issue of prisoners ought to be made functional at the earliest because this is the priority issue for us. Many Pakistani citizens are languishing in Indian jails in difficult conditions. We, therefore, want this committee to be functional as soon as possible.

Asked to confirm the reports that the Afghan Government had banned the Pakistani channels in Afghanistan , the Spokesperson said:

We have no information. It is of course, up to them to decide which channel they want to air. But if true, it would be unfortunate because we believe many Afghans would like to watch Pakistani channels.