Spokesman Briefings

Date: 28/05/2009

RECORD OF THE  PRESS BRIEFING ON 28 MAY 2009

OPENING STATEMENT

Three important events took place since we last met on 21 May 2009.

Trilateral Summit in Tehran:

• First, our President attended the Trilateral Summit of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in Tehran on 24 May 2009.  At the end of the Summit, Tehran Declaration was issued.  The three countries agreed that the purpose of the Trilateral Framework would be to:

• Bolster bonds of friendship among the Governments and peoples of the three countries;

• Find a regional solution with the participation of the three states for the establishment of peace, stability and tranquility in the region;

• Realize economic development, promote local cultures, protect religious beliefs of all peoples of the three states; and

• Alleviate poverty, and address the needs of the people.

• Our three countries will now work under the supervision of the three Foreign Ministers to evolve suitable mechanisms to achieve these goals.

• The next Summit will be held in Islamabad in October this year.  

• On the sidelines of the Summit, Pakistan and Iran also signed the   preliminary Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) as well the Framework Agreement in support of the GSPA.

36th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC

          Second, the 36th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC was held in Damascus, Syria on 23-25 May 2009.  Our delegation was led by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan. The Council adopted resolutions which were important from our viewpoint:

• It adopted a resolution on the Jammu and Kashmir Dispute expressing concerns at the indiscriminate use of force and gross violation of human rights committed in Indian Occupied Kashmir.  The resolution also underlined that “any political process/elections” held under foreign occupation cannot be a substitute to the exercise of right to self-determination.

• Another resolution on the peace process between Pakistan and India expressed the disappointment of the OIC member countries on the Indian decision to “put a pause on the Composite Dialogue” and strongly urged India for its resumption.

• The 36th Session also adopted a resolution presented by Turkey which called upon the international community to support Pakistan in addressing the needs of displaced population in Pakistan.

• The 36th Session also elected Ambassador Abdul Moiz Bokhari of Pakistan to the post of Assistant Secretary General of the OIC for a five-year term.

ASEM Meeting

          Third, the 9th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ meting was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on 25-26 May 2009.  Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir led the Pakistan delegation at the meeting.

          The theme of the meeting was “forging a closer Asia-Europe Partnership to address the Final and Economic Crisis and other Global Challenges”.

           In his address at the Ministerial Session, the Foreign Secretary underlined that the democratic Government in Pakistan was making all out efforts to promote peace, stability and economic development.  Pakistan was engaged in a resolute national effort to meet all challenges, including the fight against militancy and would succeed with the full support of the people of Pakistan.

          On the theme of the meeting, the Foreign Secretary, inter alia, underlined that it was essential to devise action and policy prescriptions that went beyond the governments. The critical role that the corporate world could play in generating business and stimulating economic activity needed to be fully extended and developed.

          On the sidelines of the meeting, the Foreign Secretary met several heads of delegation including Indonesia, Thailand, France, Sweden, Italy and Denmark.

Question-Answer Session

Q:      Indian External Affairs Minister has said that India is ready to talk if Pakistan dismantles terrorist infrastructure on its soil.  Your comments please?

A:      Preconditions for talks, in our view, are mostly untenable.  Pakistan can also do the same, but as a responsible country we do believe that it is only through dialogue and cooperative engagement can we realistically expect to solve our problems.  Terrorism is a global phenomenon and no other country is more concerned about it than Pakistan, for we are hugely suffering because of it.  But we cannot resolve problems of militancy and terrorism with unilateral and partial solutions.  If we wish to get rid of terrorism and extremism, we will have to dispense with blinkered perspectives and start looking at things objectively and earnestly.  

          In this regard, I may add that it is encouraging to see that while condemning the Lahore terrorist action yesterday, the Indian External Affairs Minister hoped that “India and Pakistan” can join hands to fight the specter of terror.  This reinforces what we have been underscoring all along.  Terrorism is our common enemy and we need to have cooperative engagement within the framework of Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism, established in September 2006.

Q:      US has expressed satisfaction that India and Pakistan are now sharing intelligence information on terrorism.  What do you say on this?

A:      I am not aware of any such sharing of intelligence. 

Q:      How would you respond to the recent violations of Pakistan’s air space by the NATO planes?  Will Pakistan remain silent in the same way as it does on drone attacks?

A:      Any violation of our space is obviously not acceptable to us and we strongly condemn that.  This continues to be our position.

Q:      What do you say about Indian External Affairs Minister’s statement that resumption of dialogue with Pakistan is only possible if Pakistan brings the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks to justice?

A:      With regard to the Mumbai attacks issue, you would recall that in response to our questions conveyed to India on 13 April, India came back to us on 20 May.  Unfortunately, most of the material we got from them is in languages other than English and Urdu.  We have formally requested India to provide the material in English.  So you can see why this delay is occurring in the commencement of prosecution process.

Q:      Today is the 11th anniversary of Pakistan’s nuclear tests.  What message do you have on this occasion?

A:      Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state. We have this nuclear deterrence for our legitimate security requirements and will continue to maintain credible nuclear deterrence for our security.

Q:      Are there any chances of Taliban getting control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals despite Pakistan’s claims of having fool-proof command and control systems?

A:      They cannot.  We have been reiterating our position on this and I don’t want to repeat that. 

Q:      Can you tell us about the languages of the dossier handed over by India? 
A:      I think it is in Hindi and Mirathi.

Q:      With regards to Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism between Pakistan and India, can you pinpoint the areas where the two countries can work together.  There is also a thought that this mechanism has failed. Why is it that talks on this mechanism have been made conditional to resumption of composite dialogue?

A:      Since the establishment of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism, there have been four meetings between our officials within its framework. So it would be wrong to say that the mechanism has failed.  Since it was established only in 2006, we need sometime to establish procedures and work out details as to how this mechanism will function. The last meeting in this regard was held in October 2008 and unfortunately since then things have come to a standstill because of the Mumbai attacks.  We hope that whenever the composite dialogue and the peace process resumes between our two countries, we will be able to elaborate procedures within the framework of this mechanism.   

Q:      What are Pakistan’s expectations from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)?  Will Pakistan seek help from SCO for its fight against terrorism?

A:      Pakistan attaches great importance to SCO process and our position has always been that there should be trans-regional cooperation especially in the context of security and development issues.  We will participate in the upcoming Summit in Russia in mid-June. We hope that Pakistan along with other member countries and observers would be able to come up with concrete proposals to deal with the issues of security and development both in the contexts of SCO as well as trans-regional cooperation.
Q:      Pakistan has been expressing reservations on the activities of Indian Consulate’s in Afghanistan. Yesterday the US has advised India to reduce the activities of its Consulate.  How do you see this development? Has Pakistan also taken up this issue with the Afghan leadership?

A:      As our leadership has been saying that there is foreign interference and we are trying to gather concrete evidence especially with reference to the route of supply of weapons and ammunition. Once our investigations are complete we should be able to say something in this regard.

Q:      Some foreign terrorists have been captured in Swat.  Is Pakistan in touch with the countries of their origin and has any request so far been made for their extradition by the respective countries?

A:      I think it is too early.  Once we complete our investigations then perhaps the next stage will come. 

Q:      Can you provide us with any consolidated figure of the foreign aid received so far with regard to the dislocated persons?

A:      You would remember that an international appeal was launched in Islamabad on the 22nd of this month. We have been receiving encouraging response from all over the world. So far announcements of over US$ 225 million have been made.  We have also been receiving consignments of relief goods from all over the world.

Q:      Why does Pakistan not disclose the nationalities of the foreign terrorists captured or killed?  What is stopping us from doing so?

A:      Nothing is stopping us but we would disclose all this at appropriate time.  It would not be advisable to get into details at this stage.

Q:      What is an update on the students detained in UK?  It was reported that one of the students made a request to take exams.   What was done in that regard?

A:      Those students are in the custody of UKBA.  According to information available to us, their next appeal concerning their deportation will be heard in the last week of July.  I am not aware of an appeal made by any of those students for taking exams. However, in a separate case a request made by a student already in Pakistan to take online exams was granted with the intervention of our High Commission in London. That has nothing to do with those detained students. 

Q:      When is the UN Commission constituted to probe into the assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto arriving in Pakistan?

A:      That’s work still in progress and we have not heard from New York.  As soon as we know about the Commission’s visit, we will announce it. 

Q:      We have been reading lots of statements from the Indian side regarding conditionalities on the resumption of composite dialogue.  Has Pakistan impressed upon the Indian side its point of view during diplomatic interactions?

A:      We do make a point whenever there is an opportunity.  We make this point in New Delhi and in Islamabad whenever diplomats from the two counties meet. We believe that resumption of the dialogue process is absolutely necessary to resolve outstanding issues between our two countries. It is encouraging to see a statement from India’s External Affairs Minister for joining hands to fight the specter of terrorism. We hope that in the days ahead our two countries will be able to resume the dialogue process and this time we hope this process is irreversible and result-oriented.

Q:      Can you confirm French President’s visit to Pakistan?  Are there any chances of signing of a nuclear deal during his visit?

A:      I cannot confirm the dates for the visit but definitely there have been discussions to explore the possibility of French President’s visit to Pakistan sometime later this year.  Before that our two countries are to embark upon the process of negotiating a framework agreement which will cover all areas of our bilateral relations.  We hope that by the time of the French President’s visit, the framework agreement will be ready for signatures.

Q:      What is an update on Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s case?

A:      Next hearing on Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s case is on 6 July to determine the competence whether or not she can stand trial.  Meanwhile, our Embassy in Washington is actively pursuing this matter at the diplomatic front and whenever we get an opportunity we do raise this issue.  It was also raised at the highest level. However, I want to assure the family of Dr. Afia Siddiqui that the Government is making every possible effort to bring her back.

Q:      How far is it true that Pakistan and India are sharing intelligence information through informal channels?

A:      I am not aware of this.

Q:      Does Pakistan has any favourite in Afghan Presidential elections? 

A:      Elections are their internal matter.  Pakistan will work with whosoever wins the election.

Q:      Israel has accused that Pakistan is actively helping Iran for development of long-range missiles. 

A:      We have very good brotherly relations with Iran. However, the news story you are referring to is baseless.

Q:      It has been reported that US consulate in Karachi has established an espionage network on Pakistan’s nuclear installations.  Your comments please?

A:      This is all speculation.  I better not make comments on speculative stories.