Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 06/02/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 06 FEBRUARY 2006

OPENING STATEMENT

Bangladeshi Prime Minister's Visit:

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia will visit Pakistan on 12-14 February. She will meet the President and Prime Minister. The complete range of Pakistan-Bangladesh relations would be discussed during these meetings. This visit is part of regular high-level contacts between our two countries. In November 2005, Prime Minister visited Dhaka to attend the SAARC Summit. During the visit, several agreements and MoUs will be signed.

QUESTION/ANSWER SESSION

- When her comments were sought on the reported withdrawal of about 3,000 Indian troops from IHK, the Spokesperson said:

We have seen the reports although we have no confirmed information about this. Both the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan have repeatedly proposed that the Jammu and Kashmir should be demilitarized. If this move is part of the significant reduction of Indian presence in IOK, we will then welcome it.

- Asked, whether the people of Pakistan and Kashmir did not give a verdict on the ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day' about the sluggishness of the dialogue process between Pakistan and India towards the conflict resolution, the Spokesperson said:

We are disappointed that the progress and the talks on the dispute related to Jammu and Kashmir have not been up to our expectations. But again, it does not mean that there has been no progress. Naturally, one has to have a degree of optimism about the dialogue process, otherwise there would be no point in staying engaged. We do hope that the peace process will pick up speed.

- When her comments were sought on President Musharraf's statement that if India failed to move in accordance with the mutually agreed strategy on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir , Pakistan can revert to international community for the resolution of the dispute, the Spokesperson said:

The international community is engaged. At this stage we are discussing the issue; we have just started the third round of the composite dialogue. The two Foreign Secretaries met in New Delhi last month. We do hope to see progress. We have repeatedly said that this dispute requires sincerity, flexibility and courage. The leadership of Pakistan has shown courage. You would have also seen the President's comments welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement.

- Asked if Pakistan believed that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir had entered into the resolution phase, the Spokesperson said:

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute needs to be addressed in a very forthright manner with sincerity, courage and flexibility. We believe that we should pursue a solution of the dispute that is acceptable to all the stakeholders i.e. Pakistan , India and Kashmiris.

- In response to a question whether Pakistan had received the Indian proposal on establishing Visa Camp Offices in Karachi and Mumbai, and what Pakistan 's response to that was, the Spokesperson said:

We have just received the proposal. We have not responded to it yet. We have an agreement on opening the Consulates Generals, and on our part we would continue our efforts to open our Consulate-General in Mumbai at the earliest. We hope that the Indian Government would extend all possible help to us in this regard.

- Asked about Pakistan 's position on the referral of the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council by the IAEA, the Spokesperson said:

First, let me clarify that the Iranian nuclear issue has not been referred to the UN Security Council. What the Board of Governors decided was that a report will be sent to the Security Council regarding the progress. We do hope that before the next Board meeting takes place, which will decide whether or not to refer this issue to the UN Security Council, some amicable diplomatic solution to this issue will be found.

- When her comments were sought on the reported statement by the Indian President that Pakistan and India would become a confederation in the fifty years time, the Spokesperson said:

We have not seen any authentic statement. There have been media speculations about what exactly the Indian President said. I have seen one version where he says that he was not talking about integration; but a ‘European Union-type' cooperation. Again these are media speculations and we do not comment on media speculations.

- Asked, with reference to Monmohan Singh's reported statement that he had no mandate to change Indian borders, to justify Pakistan's optimism that a headway could be made towards the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute during the tenure of the present Indian Government, the Spokesperson said:

What we have seen of the Indian Prime Minister's statement as reported in the media is that he had no mandate to transfer Indian territory . Pakistan and India are not discussing Indian territory and nobody expects India to transfer its territory.

- Asked, with reference to her repeated utterances that Pakistan being a growing economy needed more and more energy, why Pakistan did not sign a single bilateral energy agreement with the visiting Saudi King whereas the Indians had inked one to that effect, the Spokesperson said:

There is a tendency to compare Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relationship with other countries, which I think is not required. We have our own relationship which is rooted in history and common religion. It transcends, as His Majesty King Abdullah himself said, the normal bilateral relationship; it is a very special relationship.

There was no agreement on energy because we already have a very good understanding and our oil imports from Saudi Arabia are the highest.

- Asked whether the prospective travelers of the Khokrapar-Manbao train service would go to Islamabad and New Delhi respectively for seeking visas in the absence of visa offices or Consulate Generals at Karachi and Mumbai, and if Pakistan blamed India for not having found a location in Mumbai, the Spokesperson said:

We have a bilateral agreement that the Consulates General in Karachi and Mumbai will open simultaneously. On our part, after great effort, we located a property in Mumbai; we paid over two crores rupees in advance. We were all ready to open our Mission till some people from the locality raised objections, and the owner of the property informed us that he was not in a position to go ahead with the deal and the deal was cancelled. We are still looking for property. Opening visa offices would have been a possibility if there was no decision to open the two Consulates General. We are still hoping for that possibility.

We are sorry that it is happening but it is due to no fault of ours. Obviously, we are disappointed, because we had it all worked out. We are not blaming anyone. Here, we have a situation with which we have to deal.

- Asked whether Pakistan endorsed the OIC Secretary General's reported disapproval of the ‘over-reaction' by the Muslims over the issue of blasphemous cartoons, the Spokesperson said:

I do not think the Secretary General said that. He has also addressed a letter to member states. This is an issue on which there can be no over-reaction. Of course, we are not in favour of people resorting to violence but naturally the entire Muslim World is very dismayed, disappointed and we all condemn this act of blasphemy. This is not something which is acceptable on the pretext of freedom of press.

- Asked about Foreign Office's assessment of the behavior of the Danish authorities in the aftermath of protests over the publication of the blasphemers cartoons, the Spokesperson said:

We have seen the statement by the Danish Prime Minister. We have seen the statement by the newspaper as well saying that had it known that it would evoke such a strong reaction, the newspaper would not have published these sketches. Either they are very insensitive or they are ignorant; they did not know what kind of reaction it would evoke.

- Asked how President Musharraf could imply that Iran was making a nuclear bomb, when Iran itself was denying that charge, the Spokesperson said:

The President of Pakistan has never commented about Iran having nuclear weapons. He has never said whether Iran was making nuclear weapons or not. What the President has said, and what is the policy of the Government of Pakistan is that Iran has certain obligations under NPT of which it is a member, and at the same time it also has certain rights.

- In response to a question about the scheduled visit of the President of Pakistan to the People's Republic of China , the Spokesperson said:

We would announce the dates and other details related to the visit in due course.

- Asked about the dates and schedule of the visit to Pakistan by the Afghan President, the Spokesperson said:

The visit would take place next week. We will give details of the visit during the next briefing.

- When her comments were sought on the BBC interview of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai saying that he would take up the issue of militants allegedly trained on Pakistani soil and creating security problems in Afghanistan , during his visit to Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

I would not like to prejudge the agenda of the discussions between our leadership and the Afghan President. We have deployed more than 75000 troops on our western border – first time in our history. We have, more than any other country in the world, taken steps to counterterrorism. We have captured more than 700 militants. We are prepared to intensify our existing security cooperation with Afghanistan . At the same time, we would hope that there will be matching security effort from the Afghan side.

- Asked about the source of arms and ammunition being used by the trouble-mongers in Baluchistan , and whether Pakistan had any proof of foreign involvement in Baluchistan situation, the Spokesperson said:

The President in his interview with the leading editors last week spoke about this. He talked about the sources of financing although he did not name any source. Yes, we have evidence. The President has made that very clear.

- Asked to explain the visit of former Indian Foreign Minister to Baluchistan despite the obtaining situation there, the Spokesperson said:

A special permission was given for his travel. He wanted to visit a temple and he also wanted to bring a group of people with him.

- Asked whether Pakistan would recognize Palestinian Authority under Hamas, the Spokesperson said:

Of course, we recognize Palestine . Whichever Government is there, we would continue doing that, even if Hamas forms the government as it clearly has the mandate to do so. We do understand that President Mahmud Abbas is going to formally invite Hamas to form Government today. Whichever Government is there, it is up to the Palestinians to decide it; this is democracy.