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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 27/02/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 27 FEBBRUARY 2006

OPENING STATEMENT

1-President George W. Bush's Visit to Pakistan :

US President George W. Bush is visiting Pakistan later this week. Details of the programme are being worked out but the rough outline is that President Bush will hold talks with President Musharraf. There will be an earthquake-related event and joint press availability. Later in the evening the President will host a banquet for the visiting President. President Bush will also meet the representatives of Pakistan 's public and private sector. The U.S Embassy is arranging this event.

The visit underscores the strong relationship between Pakistan and the United States . It will focus on broadening and deepening of bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. There will be statements on the conclusion of the visit to highlight various agreements and understandings. Negotiations are continuing on the bilateral investment treaty. In the talks between the two countries, there will be discussions on the bilateral, regional and global issues.

2- Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's visit to the U.K and Jordan :

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will pay an official visit to the United Kingdom on 5-8 March. This will be his first official visit to the United Kingdom . The Prime Minister's engagements in the U.K include a meeting with the British Prime Minister. He will deliver a keynote address to Asia 2015 Conference. We will issue a press release on the visit in due course.

The Prime Minister will also visit Jordan on 8-9 March on the invitation extended to him by the Prime Minister of Jordan. The Prime Minister was earlier scheduled to visit Jordan in October last but his visit was postponed because of the earthquake in Pakistan . The Prime Minister's visit is aimed at consolidating the special relations that exist between our two countries.

QUESTION/ANSWER SESSION

- Asked, with reference to US President George W. Bush's recent media interview, whether the issue of militants' camps in Pakistan and transfer of peaceful nuclear technology would come up for discussion during his visit to Pakistan, the Spokesperson said.

I have seen the transcript of the interview. It has been widely reported in our media. The remarks in the interview may have been distorted. The media has a responsibility to check the veracity of the reports before reporting.

Certainly terrorism is an issue that affects everyone, and it will be on the agenda when the leadership of the two countries meets. Cooperation in the sphere of civilian nuclear technology will be on the agenda.

- When her comments were sought on the lately released Human Right report in which it had criticized Pakistan on the count of Human Rights, the Spokesperson said:

We have seen the Human Rights Watch's reports on Pakistan and India . The report on Pakistan makes general accusations and insinuations. There is no substance in the report. It does not present any evidence but rather makes sweeping allegations and we reject them. We may also point out that Pakistan is a very vibrant society; the media in Pakistan is free; the democratic institutions are growing. There is always very open, candid and continuous debate in Pakistan on every aspect of governance in the country. The Government of Pakistan has taken a number of steps to improve the human rights situation, empower women and minorities. Pakistan 's policies are geared towards social uplift and consolidation of sustainable democracy in the country.

- Asked about an update on Pakistan 's call for an emergency OIC meeting at the level of the Foreign Ministers, the Spokesperson said:

No meeting has been scheduled. However, a number of Islamic countries have proposed extraordinary meeting of OIC at Foreign Ministers level. The OIC Contact Groups in various capitals are meeting continuously. Our Missions in New York and Geneva are taking follow-up actions on OIC decisions. A meeting of Alliance of Civilizations is taking place in Doha . The OIC Secretary General is meeting the EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana and this issue will be discussed. A statement is likely to be issued on this shortly.

- When her attention was drawn to the killing of four children by the Indian troops at the Handwara area of IOK on 28 February, the Spokesperson said:

We have seen the report that four boys between the age of 8 and 19 were shot dead while they were playing cricket. Initially, it was claimed that these boys were killed in an exchange of fire between militants and the security forces. There were also allegations that one of these boys was working for “Lashkar-i-Tayyaba.” After people came out and protested the killing of innocent boys, some action was taken. We understand that Handwara Police has now registered a case against the Rashtriya Rifles who were involved in the killing of Kashmiri boys.

- When her comments were sought on the Indian Prime Minister's statement in the round-table conference on Kashmir that human rights situation in Kashmir will be improved, and what had been the motives of the Indian Government behind this gesture, the Spokesperson said:

I won't comment on the motives of the Indian Government. However, human rights situation in IOK and the need to improve it has been on the agenda of Pakistan-India talks, and we do hope that some credible measures will be taken to improve the Human Rights situation.

- When her comments were sought on the Afghan President's renewed allegations that Pakistan was involved in the internal situation of Afghanistan , the Spokesperson said:

I do not know how far the statement is authentic because a number of statements have been attributed to the Afghan President, and when we sought a clarification, we were informed that he did not make those comments. I would therefore not comment on media reports.

- Asked whether Pakistan had lodged a protest with the coalition and Afghan authorities over the Bajore incident at the recently concluded tripartite meeting, the Spokesperson said:

This issue was discussed. The text of the Joint Statement that was issued after the Tripartite Meeting says that the delegates discussed border security, and agreed to further enhance coordination and communication in this regard. It may be recalled that we had emphasized the need for better coordination to prevent the recurrence of incidents like Bajour. We have also asked for greater intelligence sharing, and coordination and cooperation, and that is reflected in the report.

- When her comments were sought on the report of a little-known international agency rating Pakistan to be the 10 th most dangerous place in the world owing to the obtaining security situation there, the Spokesperson said:

There are different agencies and private groups. If some private agency has placed Pakistan on its negative list, we are not bound to comment on that. In fact, there is no recognized international organization, which rates countries according to the security situation. Whosoever has done it, we do not know their motives. What is the authenticity and credibility of this organization and what reason they assign for such a designation, we would have to look at that.

- When her comments were sought on the reported interview by President Bush implying to facilitate the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

We do encourage and appreciate the international community's engagement with Pakistan , India and the Kashmiris. The US has been in a way remained engaged in this process. President Bush's speech at Asia Society clearly spells out the US policy direction.

- When her attention was drawn to a news item appeared in a section of the media suggesting that Pakistan had circulated a new map of Kashmir , the Spokesperson said:

No, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not circulated any new map. Let me assure you that there is no change in our position on Kashmir .

- Asked whether the Afghan President had handed over the list of 150 wanted Taliban to Pakistani authorities during his trip to Pakistan , because she had promised in the last briefing that she would check it with the authorities concerned, the Spokesperson said:

Yes we have checked. The factual position is that during President Karzai's visit, a list was handed over to our authorities. Total number of persons on the list is less than forty. Investigations by our intelligence agencies are underway. On this matter our intelligence agencies are in touch with their Afghan counterparts, and also with the intelligence agencies of other countries concerned.

There was also a report that Afghan President during his visit handed over the details about the location of Mullah Umar. Certain information was provided; we have checked, and some of this information is not current. These matters are being handled by the relevant security agencies of the two countries.

- Asked whether the development through secret diplomacy on the proposals of demilitarization and self-government for Jammu and Kashmir would be taken up with the visiting U.S President, the Spokesperson said:

I won't call it secret diplomacy, but we do have various levels of engagement on this issue. We have composite dialogue; we have meetings at political and leadership level; we also have a back channel. Perhaps this was a reference to back channel diplomacy. Yes the US President would be briefed about the status of our discussions.

- Asked, with reference to her response to an earlier query, whether the name of OBL was on the list, the Spokesperson said:

No Osama Bin Laden is not on the list. There is a list of about forty people. There is no evidence that Osama Bin Laden is here. If we knew where he was, he would have been caught.

- When her comments were sought on the reported statement by a Minister of Afghan Government that Pakistan should refrain from naming its missiles after the names of Afghan elders, the Spokesperson said:

We have not received any such request from the Afghan Government. It would therefore be not appropriate for me to comment on media reports. However, I may add that these are our common heroes; we have a shared history, and if our missiles are named after our common heroes, its not to insult them but to acknowledge their contributions.

- Asked about the dates for the third round of the Composite Dialogue Process between India and Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

We still have to work out the dates of one or two meetings. Once that is done then we will announce the that.

- Asked how many agreements would be inked between the US and Pakistan during the US President's Government forthcoming visit to Pakistan , the Spokesperson said:

A number of proposals are under negotiations. There will be statements after the visit about these agreements.