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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 27/11/2006

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

Opening Statement

During President Bush's visit to Pakistan in March this year, Pakistan and the US agreed to pursue cooperation in a number of areas. While all the other working groups had met and some progress had been made on all these tracks, the High-level dialogue on Education had not taken place so far. The first meeting of the High-level dialogue on Education is taking place in Washington on 29 November 2006 . The Pakistan delegation will be led by Federal Minister for Education, and it includes senior officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Higher Education Commission and the representatives from civil society. From the US side, the delegation will be led by Secretary Education Ms. Margaret Spellings, and will include Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, Administrator US Aid, and other officials from the State Department.

Question/Answer Session

Asked about the key elements of the Pakistan-IAEA agreement on Chashma II project, the Spokesperson said:

The agreement that Pakistan has concluded with IAEA is standard safeguards agreement. The basic elements of the agreement are that the reactor and the fuel from this reactor are fully covered for the entire life of this reactor. There are 440 such nuclear reactors in the world and almost all of them except some in one specific country are covered by this standard safeguards agreement

Asked about Pakistan 's expectations from the ongoing NATO Summit on Afghanistan , the Spokesperson said:

Our position on what the international community needs to do about the situation in Afghanistan has been stated a number of times and is well-known.

Asked about update on the IPI Gas Pipeline Project, the Spokesperson said:

The project is under discussion. There are some pricing issues which are being discussed.

In response to a question about the names of four Pakistani nuclear reactors under the IAEA safeguards, the Spokesperson said:

Chashma-I, Chashma-II and KANUPP are under the IAEA safeguards. I am not aware of any other name.

Asked whether the forthcoming Pakistan-US High Level Dialogue would include discussions on the Madrassah reforms, the Spokesperson said:

The High-level Dialogue on Education was established during President Bush's visit to Pakistan on 4 March 2006 . This is part of the our wide-ranging engagement with the US and institutional mechanism to promote cooperation in various areas. The basic purpose is to enhance and strengthen cooperation in the education sector. Both sides are committed to collaborate in expanding cooperation in this area which covers improving the quality of education at all levels in Pakistan , public education reforms, greater interaction and linkages between the research and academic institutions in the US and Pakistan , exchange of students, scholars, and faculty, and also the facilitation of cooperation activities in the education sector.

Asked, with reference to her response to the previous question, if she could spell out the specifics of the ‘progress' that had been made between Pakistan and the US on that count, the Spokesperson said:

All the groups under the rubric of strategic cooperation have already met. The second round of the strategic dialogue was scheduled to take place in Pakistan but was postponed due to Secretary Burns' pressing engagements. This is being rescheduled. High level Dialogue on Education was the only component that had not taken place. After the first round of meetings in all these sectors, a number of activities are already underway.

Asked how Pakistan saw the reported statements from the pro-Indian IOK political leaders supporting the concept of self-governance and what in Pakistan 's view their motives were, the Spokesperson said:

I would recall to you our earlier comments that the ideas by the President of Pakistan about the demilitarization, self-governance found resonance among Kashmiris. This was across the board. This was not the first time that such statements were made. This is something that Kashmiris have been interested in and have discussed and debated. This is a welcome sign. As for their motives, I can not comment on them.

Asked about the informal meeting between the Foreign Minister Kasuri and his Indian counterpart, the Spokesperson said:

This is basically a private visit. The Foreign Minister met the Indian Minister of External Affairs over lunch today. Naturally when the two Foreign Ministers meet, they discuss Pakistan-India relations, peace process. I do not have the details, but it is understood that all these aspects were discussed.

When her comments were sought on the reported demand by the US to allow Pakistan to station monitors on Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan , the Spokesperson said:

There is no such demand. Our position is clear. The problem in Afghanistan needs to be resolved inside Afghanistan . I made a detailed statement at the last briefing. You may refer that.

Asked to confirm the veracity of the news reports that dates for the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Pakistan had been finalized, the Spokesperson said:

These are speculative reports.

Asked if following the Foreign Secretary's meeting with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, whether Pakistan was still in contact with NSG, the Spokesperson said:

The Foreign Secretary visited Vienna and among his other engagements, he had a meeting with the representatives of the NSG countries. He briefed them about Pakistan 's energy plans and our requirements. Our engagement with NSG is a continuing process.

In response to a question about the 42 Pakistanis jailed in Sri Lanka reportedly without any trial for the last fifteen to twenty years in violation of the bilateral agreement on repatriation of prisoners, the Spokesperson said:

I know that there are some Pakistani prisoners in Sri Lankan jails. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Mission are in contact with the Sri Lankan authorities over this issue. I am not in a position right now to confirm whether we have any agreement of this nature with Sri Lanka . I will check and come back to you.

Asked about an update on the issue of Siachin between Pakistan and India in the backdrop of optimistic statements from the Foreign Minister of Pakistan and contrary statements by the Indian Minister of External Affairs, the Spokesperson said:

You would recall the Foreign Secretary's press conferences in Delhi and on his return from India in which he said that we had left some ideas with India and there response is now awaited.