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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 02/10/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 02 OCTOBER 2006

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

QUESTION/ANSWER SESSION

Asked, with reference to her statement made during one of the earlier briefings, about the basis of her expectation that the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India would resume after the month of Ramadan, the spokesperson said:

The two Foreign Secretaries have been in contact with each other. They have exchanged some ideas and the likely time for Foreign Secretaries' meeting is at anytime after Ramadan.

When her comments were sought on the statement by the Indian Foreign Secretary-designate that ISI was involved in the Mumbai bombing and that evidence to that effect had been provided to Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

I understand that the Indian Foreign Secretary did not say that ISI was involved. It was the Mumbai Police Commissioner who made this baseless allegation. We have responded to that. The Indian Foreign Secretary reportedly talked about providing evidence to Pakistan but we have not received anything as yet. We have always said that instead of leveling unfounded allegations in the media, India should share with us, if it has any evidence and if it wants our help. We have already said that we would cooperate with India .

Asked whether rhetoric in the aftermath of Havana Summit meeting between Pakistan and India did not give the impression that the peace process was becoming focused on only one agenda-item i.e. terrorism and the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir had been sidelined, the spokesperson said:

You have yourself referred to the Jammu and Kashmir issue as the core issue. A core issue cannot be sidelined; it cannot be put on the backburner. As far as the issue of terrorism is concerned, it is a problem that is faced by Pakistan , India - all the countries of South Asia and other countries. There is no link between the peace process and terrorism.

When her comments were sought on report of the Amnesty International which claims human rights violations in Pakistan especially unlawful detention of terrorist suspects, torture and handing over to the US without due process of law, the spokesperson said:

The human rights organizations including Amnesty International bring out reports highlighting concerns related to various aspects of human rights around the world and not just in Pakistan . The Amnesty International, like the other human rights organizations, has been critical of the policies adopted by countries to fight terrorism. The Amnesty International's report on Pakistan is again in the same context. However, human rights are important to everyone and Pakistan has been committed to promoting human rights. It is the government's effort is to ensure respect for individual's human rights. At the same time it is also the responsibility of the government to protect what is the most fundamental human right – the right to life from terrorist acts. These two have to be balanced. Terrorism is a serious and complex challenge which requires complex and sometimes uncommon measures and decisions are taken in the larger public interest.

Some aspects of this report are also based on hearsay. For example the report says that in August 2005, several hundred foreign students, Pakistani Madrassah students, clerics and members of Islamic groups were arrested. If something like that had happened and there were such large scale arrests and disappearances, it would have certainly made headlines in our media. I do not recall any such report.

Thirdly, the report criticizes Pakistan for handing over Al-Qaeda suspects or terrorists to the US . Our first preference is to hand over the suspects to the countries of their origin. It is only when their own countries do not accept them that we hand them over to the US . Moreover, the report's claim that most detainees at Guantanamo Bay have gone from Pakistan is incorrect.

Asked about Pakistan 's viewpoint on the impositions of sanctions by the US on Iran and the latter's reiteration that it would rather expand its uranium-enrichment programme, the spokesperson said:

The Libya-Iran-sanctions Act has been there for a longtime. This Act comes up for renewal form time to time. Libya may have been dropped to make it Iran-specific. Basically it is a domestic US law and it does not have any international legality.

You referred to the statements by Iranian leadership. In recent days, there have been some positive statements from both sides. There was a meeting between Mr. Larijani and Mr. Javier Solana. Although there was no immediate result but it is a process. We have said that this process should continue. We are in favour of continuing diplomacy and negotiations for a peaceful solution of the issue.

Asked to give the latest on Baglihar, the spokesperson said:

There is a meeting and the neutral expert might be giving his preliminary assessment to the two delegations with a timeline for comments. The final decision is expected by the end of this year.

Asked to give an update on the Pak-U.S F-16 deal, the spokesperson said:

The letter of acceptance has been forwarded.

Asked to justify Pakistan 's claim that its policy of fighting a war against international terrorism was independent after President Musharaf's claim in his book that it was not the case and the US had threatened and pressured Pakistan . Also payments were made to a Pakistani Government agency for the arrest of Al-Qaeda followers, the spokesperson said:

First of all, the President's book is his auto-biography and any questions related to it must be directed to the President's office.

Second, it is not a question of independent decisions. We have never described our participation in the international fight against terrorism in those terms. We have said that our decision to join the international community in the fight against terrorism in our national interest. Terrorism is a problem which requires close and inter-linked actions. In the fight against terrorism countries are not acting independently but in close collaboration with each other but no one country is in any way subjugated by or pressured by the other. It is members the international community coming together in their own national interest.

About the money? The President has clarified the issue. There is no possibility of government taking money when this money is specifically meant to encourage individuals to identify the most wanted terrorists.

Asked to confirm reports that Pakistanis observed a hunger strike outside Pakistan 's Embassy premises at Tokyo , the spokesperson said:

We have seen reports. We have asked our Mission in Tokyo to send a report on what happened.

Asked whether Pakistan would cooperate with India under the joint institutional mechanism for fighting terrorism if it furnished sound evidence of ISI's involvement in the Mumbai blasts, the spokesperson said:

We have already said that these recent allegations, like the earlier allegations, are not based on facts. These are propagandist and the Indian officials and media have done that in the past. We feel that the purpose of issuing such statements is to divert attention from the indigenous elements inside India who are behind these terrorist acts in Mumbai and elsewhere including Malegaon . This is internal and there is yet another effort to externalize the internal malaise.

As for the mechanism, if India feels that it has some information that suggests a link with some people here or some kind of a connection, then yes we will take action. We will help in their investigations. There is no provision in the mechanism for handing over people to each other.

Asked about the timeframe for the convening of Jirga because President Musharraf and President Karzai had reportedly agreed to establish Jirga system to resolve the issues, the spokesperson said:

We do not have any timeframe at the moment. These matters would be discussed through diplomatic channels. As soon as we have any other details we would share them with you.

When her comments were sought on the statement made by Afghan President that he had been assured by President Musharraf that there would be a crackdown on the religious seminaries in Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

We are already undertaking the reforms of the Madrassah education. The basic purpose is to broaden the education to include computer, sciences, mathematics, chemistry, physics and other fields so that when they come out of Madrassah, they are able to pursue regular educations at universities and get jobs. The reform process is underway; many madrassas have introduced these reforms; they are registered with the Government. A few Madrassahs may be involved in preaching extremism and hatred leading to sectarian and other kind of violence. It is for our own national cohesion and unity and for Pakistan 's stability that the Government does not allow such madrassas to operate. When our leaders or anyone in the government talk about a crackdown on these madrassas, it is in our national interest and not under anyone's pressure or just to assure others.

Asked whether Pakistan would reciprocate the reported Indian visa flexibility for Pakistan-bound travelers, the spokesperson said: