Spokesman Briefings

Date: 08/10/2007

Record of Press Briefing on 08 October, 2007

Opening Statement

There was no opening statement.

Question/Answer Session

Asked, to sum up the role of the international community at the 2 nd anniversary of the earthquake which had devastated the northern areas of Pakistan with emphasis and how far the commitment made by different countries then had been fulfilled, the Spokesperson said:

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the devastating earthquake which struck Azad Kashmir and some parts of NWFP. We have come a long way from that devastation and the reconstruction process is underway. As you know the President has been visiting the earthquake affected areas today. We as individuals have also been going and seeing the changes that have taken place in the last 2 years. Of course the loss of human life which cannot be compensated. Nothing can bring back those 37,000-40,000 children who died but life has to go on and this is what is happening. Reconstruction is taking place and people are being rehabilitated. Most of the tent villages have disappeared. A lot more needs to be done. Return to normal life in these areas may take about 5 years. You have asked about contribution of the international community, in the earlier phases it was very actively involved. We had a Donor's Conference and earlier the US also launched flash appeals and organized conferences. The figures I have, and they are also available on the ERRA website, all in all we got $5.7 billion, out of which $2.5 billion was in the shape of grants and $3.1 billion was in the form of soft loans which we took from various countries. Out of this amount close to $3 billion has been dispersed for rehabilitation and reconstruction. At this stage, I will not say international community has completely forgotten, but of course there are new calamities and new disasters, the focus doesn't stay on one issue for that long and unfortunately that has happened in the case of the earthquake too. Although the UN assessment was that in terms of impact in one specific country, the earthquake was a bigger disaster than Tsunami the attention stayed for a longer time.

When asked to brief on the upcoming talks on conventional and nuclear CBMs and if there were bound to be any new proposals, the Spokesperson said:

These talks take place under the Composite Dialogue Process. We are in the 4th round of the Composite Dialogue. The expert level talks on conventional CBMs are in the 4th round and for the nuclear CBM it's the 5th round. Talks on conventional CBMs will be on the 18th of October and on nuclear CBMs, talks will be on the 19th of October. The last round was held in April, 2006 in Islamabad . These meetings will review the implementation of the CBMs already agreed upon. Also the two sides may discuss new proposals. As you know, an agreement on reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons was signed, an agreement on reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons was signed in February, 2007. At the forthcoming meeting the two sides will discuss, among other CBM the two main proposals under consideration regarding the return of inadvertent line crossers. This, you know is a humanitarian issue. Both governments accept that and now an agreement is being negotiated and we hope this would be signed at the earliest.

The second one is about incidents at sea. In addition, the second meeting of ATM will be held in Delhi on 22 October. This will provide an opportunity to exchange views on how to help investigations on either sides into terrorist acts and how we can cooperate with each other and help each other in curbing violence and terrorism.

Asked, which countries had not matched the promises they had made at the Donor's Conference as it was seen that rich nations had not come up to the promises they had made while the smaller countries had done more then expected, the Spokesperson said:

I would not go there. It is not appropriate. Many countries including big, middle income and small friendly countries did a lot. In big countries, the US was particularly helpful. It not only provided assistance but also mobilized others. Countries like Cuba , Turkey , Saudi Arabia and China have done a lot. So I won't say the big countries did less. Of course the expectation, even by the UN was that given their resources they would do more.

Asked, with reference to the US having stressed to Pakistan the need for free and fair elections in the country, whether this did not cast doubts about the sovereignty of the country, the Spokesperson said:

What we have to remember is that free and fair elections are an expectation and demand of the people Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan has made a commitment to the people of Pakistan that the elections will be fair and free.

When her attention was drawn to the fact that despite incessant protests by Pakistan the Government of India had decided to open Siachen to tourists from the whole world and whether this would have an adverse impact on the Composite Dialogue, the Spokesperson said:

No, they aren't opening it to tourists from around the world. That is not my information. They have put together a select group and sent them. I am not aware of any decision by the Indian government to make open Siachen to international tourism.

Asked, after being congratulated at being designated Ambassador to Italy, to sum the relations of Pakistan with Italy with reference to reports of Pakistanis being tortured there if arrested, and also what the response of the international community was to the re election of President Musharraf, and whether this meant that progress could be expected in the Composite Dialogue because recently the Indian Prime Minister had attributed the slowing down of the peace process to the instability in Pakistan, the Spokesperson said:

Well I will start with the last question. First of all there is no instability in Pakistan . This is an election year and obviously there is lot of activity. As in other countries, elections generate activity and emotions and we are no different in that sense. Secondly there should no slowing down of the Composite Dialogue because of any event either in Pakistan or India . There have been reports about what has been going on in Delhi but we do not think they affect the Composite Dialogue. We have completed talks on the 8 subjects. We don't have any fixed time frame for the review meeting of the Foreign Secretary or Foreign Minister but these will take place this year. As we were discussing 3 meetings are scheduled to take place in the next 10-12 days so the Composite Dialogue is taking place.

What is perhaps not happening the way we would have liked is forward movement on core disputes. We have repeatedly emphasized that while we are putting in place new CBMs and improving on the ones which have already been institutionalized and while the atmosphere between the two countries has improved, what we need to do now is take advantage of this improved climate and move towards resolving the core dispute which has caused tension and conflict in this region and this can not be delayed on the pretext of one thing or the other.

Your second question was about the treatment of Pakistanis in Italy ? There have been some odd incidents in the past, where innocent Pakistanis suspected of having links with Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations were nabbed. Some were released immediately but in one case it went on for 6-8 months. It was a difficult time and innocent people had to suffer but ultimately they were acquitted by the court and set free and the matter was settled. Whoever the ambassador or officers serving there, it is everyone's duty to help Pakistanis in their legitimate needs. If they have a problem the Embassy can help and should facilitate them in settling down but this has to be in line with rules and regulations, respect for Pakistani and local law.

As regards, response of international community to election of President, he has received a few messages of felicitation from Turkey, Jordan and some other countries; I do not have the exact number but I think there are some others.

Asked, for an assessment of Sino Pakistan friendship over the past 2 years, the Spokesperson said:

Sino Pakistan friendship is so broad, so deep and it covers so much that if I start to even enumerate the things we did together in the last 2 years it would take us till iftar but suffice it to say that it is one of the most important relationships for Pakistan. We are very proud of our friendship with China and the people of China . It is a relationship which covers almost every field of bilateral relations which any two countries can have. It is a relationship that is going from strength to strength.

Asked, if Pakistan felt any real urgency on Siachen as it had been an issue since the last 23 years and whether it planned to take the issue up with India any time soon, the Spokesperson said:

We have been raising this issue with India . Under the Composite Dialogue we have a separate group which deals with the Siachen dispute, it has a long history. In 1989 we were very close to settling it. The agreement had almost been finalized when India had a change of heart and our view is that if we were so close to resolving it then, we can do it today. We should have done it yesterday. The point is it has to be a political decision. Pakistan has given a number of workable proposals to India and we strongly believe that on the basis of those proposals we can find a solution to this problem.

Asked, if there were any special instances of investigation which could come up at the ATM meeting as she had mentioned last week that Pakistan had evidence of Indian involvement in the country and the Indian side had claimed the same, the Spokesperson said:

We do not discuss in public domain the specific issues that would be raised. We already have a group on counter terrorism. This mechanism was established to put the two countries in contact at the working level where information could be exchanged quickly. If we want to seek Indian assistance in curbing some terrorist act and vice versa, there is direct contact and the two sides can exchange information. We do not want too much media focus here. Certainly any issue the two countries have in the context with terrorism would be brought to the table and discussed.

In a supplementary question to the two countries not desiring ATM to be under media glare, it was pointed out that it was the media in the two countries which was pressurized by the intelligence agencies and thus was naturally interested, the Spokesperson said:

The ATM has nothing to do with media. ATM deals with terrorist acts. If there is a bomb blast in Pakistan or India , or if there is some other terrorist act in which innocent people are being killed, the two countries are supposed to help each other prevent such incidents, and if any information is available to prevent these acts, they are to be conveyed to each other. The purpose is to curb violence and terrorism.

When it was pointed out that after the last ATM meeting, information was exchanged, and names of people Pakistan and India wanted from each other were leaked in Delhi , whether there was any forward movement on these demands and whether the two sides would be able to satisfy each other on 22 nd October, the Spokesperson said:

If the purpose is to make this mechanism successful and help each other prevent terrorist acts, then this should be successful. It's in our common interest to cooperate. We, as long standing victim of terrorism, know that it's a very serious threat to our society and we would like to eradicate and minimize this problem and if there is any outside involvement we would like to curb it. This forum provides the two sides with a platform to see how they can help each other.

Asked, for updates about the Indian investigation into the Samjhauta incident and also if Pakistan was satisfied with it, the Spokesperson said:

We are in touch with the Indian Government and have been told that investigations are continuing. We would like to get full details of these whenever they are available but we are in touch with them.

Asked, if the fact that neither OIC had succeeded in speedy resolution of the Kashmir dispute or the Siachen issue nor the UN had made much headway, whether this implied a weakness of Pakistan 's foreign policy or if it is the member countries who are weak, the Spokesperson said:

OIC has a special representative and a contact group on Kashmir which meets regularly not only during OIC meetings but also on the sidelines of international events like UN General Assembly in New York and on the sidelines of Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva and conveys its views which are in line with international law and legal position of the Kashmir dispute. Naturally if you start making the argument that it hasn't been able to bring a change in the Indian position or in the ground situation in IOK. Well, the UN hasn't been able to do that. It is a process in the sense that even if it hasn't made any major contribution, at least views of 54 member states are put on record, they are conveyed and publicized.