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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 09/01/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 09 January 2006

There was made no statement in the beginning, and the Press Conference opened with Question/Answer Session.

QUESTION/ANSWER SESSION

- When her comments were sought on the reported Indian response to President Musharraf's proposals of demilitarization and autonomy in Kashmir , the Spokesperson said:

President Musharraf's proposals on autonomy and self-governance to Jammu and Kashmir are very clear. We do not want to get into the controversy over these ideas. These ideas are in the spirit of the peace process for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, and these are motivated by the desire to seek a settlement of the issue in the interest of Pakistan , India and the people of Kashmir . The validity of these ideas, which are being discussed very enthusiastically by the people of Kashmir, lies not in what the MEA has to say, but how the Kashmiri people and their leadership have responded to them.

- Asked, with reference to Foreign Minister Kasuri's reported interview, whether Pakistan was not conceding too much on Kashmir issue, the Spokesperson said:

I do not know what the Foreign Minister has exactly said, and whether he has been quoted correctly but one thing is certain i.e. when we talk about demilitarization, we are talking about Jammu and Kashmir as a whole. Let me put it on the record, there will be no unilateral demilitarization.

- Asked whether she was optimistic about the third round of the Composite Dialogue Process, the Spokesperson said:

The Foreign Secretary-level talks are going to initiate the third round of the composite dialogue, which is an integral part of the peace process between Pakistan and India to resolve all outstanding issues including the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir . We would also have a better idea about what this process can achieve after we have had this meeting. .

- Asked, with reference to President Musharraf's television interview, whether Pakistan would share any evidence with India regarding its involvement in the obtaining situation in Baluchistan , the Spokesperson said:

What the President of Pakistan has said, and what the Government of Pakistan has earlier stated is very clear; I need not add anything to that about Indian involvement in our internal affairs in Baluchistan .

At the moment we are processing the information we have and a decision about sharing this evidence with India and others will be taken later.

- In response to a number of questions on the reported U.S violation of Pakistan 's territorial integrity in Waziristan area, the Spokesperson said:

The American troops did not enter our territory but we did receive fire across the border in which eight people died. The Americans have denied that their troops were involved in this attack but we have initiated an inquiry as to what exactly happened. Secondly, we have also lodged a strong protest with the coalition forces in Afghanistan . We have protested the firing incident in which eight people died. We, as well as they are investigating as to who actually initiated it.

There are also reports that a helicopter landed on this side; the locals have reported this. We are investigating this incident as well.

- Asked, given the U.S' opposition to Iran-Pakistan-India Gas Pipeline Project, whether she ruled out its involvement in the developments in Baluchistan , the Spokesperson said:

We are not in the business of speculations and conspiracy theories; we go by hard evidence.

On the gas pipeline our position is very clear and I have outlined it in earlier briefings.

- Asked whether Foreign Office would share with the media the results of the previous probes conducted for the purpose of ascertaining the responsibility of erstwhile violations of Pakistan 's territorial integrity, the Spokesperson said:

These are the issues that are discussed at the Tripartite Commission, and an effort is made on all sides to take measures, so that these incidents do not recur.

- Asked to confirm the veracity of the news reports that the U.S troops had picked up four tribesmen from Pakistani area as well, the Spokesperson said:

This is not our information. What we have heard from the locals is that a helicopter landed. Then it took off; we are investigating that.

- Asked whether President Musharraf's lamentation on Indian sluggishness in response to Pakistan 's flexibility on Kashmir in his recent interview with CNN was not tantamount to our Foreign Policy failure, the Spokesperson said:

There is no Foreign Policy failure here. What the President has said, and what we have been saying is that we would have liked to see the peace process move more quickly. It is not moving at the pace, we would have desired. But at the same time, while we have expressed this disappointment, it is not all bleak. We are going to resume the third round of the composite dialogue and also there are various ideas being thrown up and being discussed. We do hope that there will be flexibility so that we can take this process further.

- Asked to give the current status of the Pakistani delegation's proposed visit to ‘ Israel ', the Spokesperson said:

I have repeatedly clarified that there is no Pakistani delegation going to Israel . What we have told you is that it was decided during the President of Palestine's visit to Pakistan last year that Pakistan would send a delegation to Gaza ; it is in the works, and as soon as the dates and composition are finalized, we would share them with you. We are in touch with the Palestinians.

- Asked to justify her optimism about the peace process in the face of Pakistan 's ‘despair' over Indian recalcitrance on major issues and allegations of infiltration across LoC, the Spokesperson said:

There is no despair; there may be disappointment, I assure you that there is no despair. There is some confusion, because one day you have statements from half of Indian establishment that infiltration is no more a problem; things are under control, then the other half is saying that infiltration has increased. I do not know how to read that. But certainly there is no infiltration, because this area is now open. I said in my previous briefing also that there are a hundreds and thousands of relief workers operating in this area close to the Line of Control as well. They have not discovered any infiltration.

- When her comments were sought on reports that suggested that the Indian Prime Minister was not visiting Pakistan to watch a match of the forthcoming cricket series between Pakistan and India , the Spokesperson said:

I do not know where the report that the Indian Prime Minister was visiting Pakistan for the cricket series originated. Certainly, we did not do that. There were speculations in the Pakistani, as well as in the Indian media. In an interview the President of Pakistan was asked a specific question by an Indian journalist if he was going to invite the Indian Prime Minister to come and watch one of the ODIs. The President's response, I am sure you would have seen, was that he was willing to invite the Indian Prime Minister, but he also made it clear that he wanted to see the peace process move forward, because we do not believe in wasting our time.

- Asked whether Pakistan had received any positive response from the U.S and the West on its request for seeking their cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, the Spokesperson said:

We have ongoing cooperation in the peaceful uses of the nuclear technology; we are talking to a number of countries in this regard, and we do hope that the developed countries would respond to our interest in enhancing that cooperation.

- Asked about Pakistan 's optimism about the Middle East Peace Process sans Ariel Sharon, the Spokesperson said:

Our efforts will continue, because the issue of Palestine is very much there.

- Asked whether Pakistan had requested the Nuclear Suppliers Group to give it exemption on the supply of the nuclear power plants from China to Pakistan , because the U.S had already requested it to give that facility to India , the Spokesperson said:

What has NSG got to do with the supply of power plants from China to Pakistan ? I think these are two different issues you are mixing together. First, we have our energy requirements; our economy as well as our energy requirements are growing and we are interested in acquiring nuclear power plants for safe energy. We would be interested in acquiring civilian nuclear technology and nuclear power plants, which would be under IAEA safeguards.

As regards the NSG exemption for India , we would like that this exemption is also extended to Pakistan .

- Asked to give an update on Mumbai Consulate issue, and whether Pakistan had requested the Indian government to intervene in the matter, the Spokesperson said:

There have been some confusing reports about that. An impression has been created as if Pakistan is dragging its feet; it is reluctant to open Consulate-General as agreed. That is not the situation. On the contrary, we are very keen to make our Consulate-General operational. What has happened is that, it took us about ten months to identify a suitable location in Mumbai. We negotiated with the owners, and it was in public knowledge; we signed a contract and made advance payment. Then some people in the vicinity objected to the signing of this contract, and they are trying to pressurize the landlord of that property to back out of the deal. Till this issue is resolved, the Consulate-General cannot be opened. And since the opening has to be simultaneous, we are waiting for the settlement of this issue.

We have already requested the Indian Government to help us resolve this issue.

- Asked about the status of F-16 Fighter Aircrafts Deal with the U.S, the Spokesperson said:

The deal is intact, but their acquisition has been delayed