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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 24/07/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 24 July 2006

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

QUESTION/ANSWER SESSION 

Asked to confirm the veracity of a report that appeared in ‘The Washington Post' suggesting that Pakistan was in the process of building a new nuclear reactor that would have the capacity to assemble about forty to fifty nuclear devices, the Spokesperson said:

The report basically says that Pakistan has a nuclear weapons programme and nuclear facilities in Khushab. This ought not be a revelation to anyone because Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state. I have no comment on the details of Pakistan 's nuclear facilities and our programme in this sector. However, Khushab is a well-known nuclear site as its coordinates are exchanged even with India every year on 1 st January in the lists of nuclear sites under the 1988 agreement between the two countries. The article itself admits that these facilities are known. Therefore, the excitement about it is unwarranted.

In response to another question with regard to the claim in the article that it would lead to a nuclear arms race in the region, the Spokesperson said:

The article is not Gospel truth. We have repeatedly said that we do not want a nuclear or conventional arms race in the region. We were not the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the region and we were not the first to test nuclear weapons in South Asia .

Asked whether the facilities in Khushab were under the IAEA safeguards and whether these were indigenous facilities , the Spokesperson said,

The list of our facilities which are under the IAEA safeguards is available even on the Agency's website. This information can be checked there. However, Khushab is not under the IAEA safeguards. Yes, our nuclear programme is indigenous.

To a question about Pakistan 's efforts to contact the OIC member countries on the worsening situation in the Middle East , and why Pakistan acted belatedly on that count and whether Pakistan supported an emergency OIC meeting, the Spokesperson said:

I am sure you have seen our statements. The President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan have established contacts with various leaders of the OIC Member States. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also spoke to the Secretary General of OIC and conveyed our views. Pakistan supports a political initiative by the OIC, be it at a Summit level or Foreign Ministers level.

Our reaction was delayed. This is a wrong presumption that we reacted to the crisis after ten days.

Asked about the status of relationship between Pakistan and India in the backdrop of reports that Indian Establishment was going to approve the Israel-like hot pursuit and take punitive actions against Pakistan and in Azad Kashmir, the Spokesperson said:

These media reports, often citing official sources, are extremely irresponsible. I do not think any name has been mentioned but whosoever has suggested this has been very irresponsible. They should asked what do they intend to do? Do they want a war in this region? Do they want a holocaust? Nobody should make this mistake that Pakistan would tolerate such action inside its territory or that in Azad Kashmir. It should be realized that any action of this nature would be a serious mistake. What we want is the pursuit of peace. India had deployed one million-strong force on our borders but ultimately we had to return to the negotiating table. This is the only option we have.

Asked about the status of our Embassy in Beirut, and whether stranded Pakistanis had been evacuated from the war-zone, and also if there were any reports about any Pakistani nationals in Beirut being injured in Israeli attacks, the Spokesperson said:

Our Embassy is open. It is busy in the evacuation of Pakistanis. The latest figures are that so far 69 Pakistanis have been evacuated from Beirut to Damascus . They have been temporarily lodged in the Pakistan International School and are being provided food and care. These Pakistanis will be repatriated to Pakistan on the first available flights. The first batch is likely to reach Pakistan on 26 th of July. Our Embassy is trying to establish contact with all Pakistanis. It is providing all assistance to them. The Embassy has been directed to purchase tickets for those who cannot afford.

Fortunately, we have so far received no report that any Pakistani has been injured in Lebanon .

Asked whether the reaction by the OIC member states to the situation in the Middle East was inadequate and there were internal divisions in the group, the Spokesperson said:

You are asking me to make a value judgment, which I would not do. Everyone is concerned over the situation in Lebanon and about the immense suffering of the Lebanese people. Everyone is trying to help defuse this crisis.

Asked whether the exchange of prisoners between Pakistan and India had been delayed and if not how many Indian and Pakistani civilian prisoners had so far been provided consular access by the respective countries, the Spokesperson said:

The agreement was to provide consular access by 31 July to all the civilian prisoners and fishermen and that is being done. On 18 July Indian High Commission had consular access to prisoners held in various jails of Punjab and today and tomorrow, consular access is being provided in Karachi . We were also given four different sets of dates and places by India , and consular access has already taken place at two places.

Asked whether Pakistan had offered any humanitarian assistance to Lebanon in the wake of Israeli rampage of its territories, the Spokesperson said:

The Prime Minster of Pakistan has been speaking to the Prime Minister of Lebanon. As the Prime Minister said day before yesterday, while talking to the media, our planes are ready with relief assistance comprising mainly medicines and food. He also indicated to the Prime Minister of Lebanon that we would await an indication about other humanitarian supply that Lebanon may require. We are ready to send more planes. But this will take place when humanitarian assistance corridor is operational and this, we understand, will happen shortly.

Asked to confirm media reports that Pakistan was going to intensify its cooperation with the international community in its effort to fight terrorism, the Spokesperson said:

Pakistan is already doing all that is required to be done on our part. We have been cooperating with ISAF, NATO, the Afghan government, and we would continue that cooperation.

Asked whether the reportedly arrested Afghan nationals in Quetta were apprehended by Pakistan on its own or on any request received from the Afghan Government in this regard, the spokesperson said:

We are taking action on our side. We are part of the international effort to curb terrorism.

Asked to confirm whether a Pakistani Army officer who was in the custody of Afghan officials had been set free and from where he was arrested, the Spokesperson said:

He was kidnapped from a place called Vesh Mandi which is on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and yes he has come back.

Asked whether the current state of relations between Pakistan and India corroborated the apprehension that Pakistan-India peace process was totally off the track, and what Pakistan was doing to help resume the dialogue, the spokesperson said:

We have said that the peace process between Pakistan and India is in the interest of people of both countries, people of this entire region and the world at large. Therefore, we are committed to the peace process. Since we were told when the Foreign-Secretary level review meeting was postponed that India would be indicating new dates for the meeting, we await this indication from their side.

Asked whether any bilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers or the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India was scheduled on the sidelines of the forthcoming SAARC Council of Ministers meeting at Dhaka , the spokesperson said:

The Council of Ministers meeting in Dhaka would be preceded by the Standing Committee meeting which is headed by respective Foreign Secretaries. No meeting has been scheduled yet. But naturally, if the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries are in Dhaka, they would interact.