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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 09/10/2006

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

Opening Statements

1. Pakistan deplores the announcement by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that it has conducted a nuclear test. This would be a destabilizing development for the region. We had urged the Democratic Republic of Korea to desist from introducing nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula . It is regrettable that the PRK chose to ignore the advice of the international community not to test a nuclear weapons device. Pakistan has consistently supported the six-party talks. We believe this mechanism could have been used to address North Korea 's concerns. We hope that all the countries in the region would exercise restrain.

2. The meeting between the representatives of the Governments of Pakistan and India with the World Bank's neutral expert on Baghlihar took place in Paris the beginning of this month. The neutral expert shared his final draft Expert Determination with the representatives of the two countries. The parties are required to forward their comments in writing to the neutral expert by 26 October 2006 . The neutral expert will convene another meeting with the representatives of the two governments in Washington on 7-9 November 2006 to receive comments from the parties and discuss the written comments received earlier. He has indicated that he would be rendering his final decision before the end of this year.  

Question/Answer Session

When asked to comment on the reported claim by the Commander of NATO in Afghanistan that he had evidence to prove that Pakistan was involved in training terrorists and reported demand by some NATO commanders to their governments to get tough with Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

General David Richards is visiting Pakistan . We will see what he has to say and what he has to present. Who are these NATO commanders? Do they have any identity? Do they have any names? We do not know these so called NATO commanders who are making statements everyday. There was this statement three days ago and today NATO commanders are reportedly criticizing the mismanagement, corruption and bad governance in Afghanistan saying that if things continue this way, very soon the Taliban would take over Afghanistan . The authentic commentary on the situation in Afghanistan is the UN Secretary General's recent report. The report is a fairly balanced one. It states that the roots of insurgency are inside Afghanistan . Of course it by no means says that there are no crossings from Afghanistan to Pakistan and from Pakistan to Afghanistan . For instance it reads:

“The insurgency in Afghanistan is being conducted mostly by Afghans operating inside Afghanistan 's borders. The insurgency's current center of gravity falls in and around the provinces of Kandhahar, Helmand , Uruzgan and increasingly Farah. Anti-government operations, nevertheless, continue in many parts of east and south-east and have become an acute concern in Wardak and Logar provinces close to the capital. The insurgency now covers a broad part of mostly Pashtun-dominated territory, extending from Kunar province in the east to the Farah province in the west…. Five distinct leadership centers of the insurgency can be identified…. They include a wing of Hizbul Islami party led by Gulbaddin Hikmatyar in Kunar province and neighbouring areas. Taliban's northern command for Nangarhar and Laghman provinces' networks is led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former minister in the Taliban regime, mainly from Khost and Paktya provinces. The Wana Shura for Paktika and the Taliban southern command for the provinces of Zabul, Kandhahar, Helmand and Uruzgan”

This is a clear indictment. The report is available on the UN website.

Asked whether Pakistan would take this ‘indictment' to the UN Security Council, the spokesperson said:

I did not use the word ‘indictment' in that sense. But of course it is the UN's judgment about the events in Afghanistan - that the problem lies inside Afghanistan . I am talking about indictment in that sense. Of course the Security Council members are aware of the situation. There is growing concern on the situation obtaining in Afghanistan . It is a matter of concern for all of us.

Asked about the specific agenda of the NATO Commander's visit to Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

NATO, ISAF , US Central Command officials visit Pakistan frequently. The purpose of these visits is to review the situation, to consult, and to coordinate our joint efforts.

Asked about the dates and details of the proposed meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India , the spokesperson said:

There are no dates as yet. But the meeting, as I said earlier, is likely to take place after Eid. The two Foreign Secretaries have been in touch and they have talked about tentative dates but no final dates have been fixed as yet.

In response to questions whether the Indian government had shared any evidence with Pakistan to support its allegations of Pakistan 's involvement in Mumbai bombings? According to the Indian Foreign Secretary the Indian prime Minister would be presenting the “proofs” to the European Union. In view of this how could Pakistani and Indian officials claim that Havana summit meeting was successful, the spokesperson said:

To date, we have not received any evidence; we have seen the mere press statements. I will not link it with the Havana meeting. We have been telling India even before the agreement on the institutional mechanism that if there was any evidence to support these allegations, it should be shared with us. If they want to share it with EU and others - by all means they can do that. But for us these are just allegations as long as we do not see any evidence.

Asked to justify Pakistan's criticism of North Korea for what Pakistan had itself done, and whether it did not amount to negating one of the principles of Pakistan's foreign policy i.e. non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, the spokesperson said:

Nuclear test by DPRK can not be compared with tests by Pakistan . They are very different. Pakistan did not initiate nuclear tests in this region. We did not initiate a nuclear weapons programme in this region. We were compelled to test. We were acting purely in self-defence. Korean peninsula is a nuclear weapons free zone. We are afraid that this test-fire by DPRK may lead to a chain reaction. It is not interference in North Korea 's internal affairs. We are looking at it in the context of its impact and ramifications for international peace and security

In response to a question whether Dr. AQ Khan could have a role in the North Korean nuclear test given his links with the DPRK government's nuclear programme, the spokesperson said:

There is absolutely no link between the nuclear test conducted by North Korea and Dr. AQ Khan or what might have gone between Dr AQ Khan and the North Korean government which had been investigated thoroughly. Moreover, North Korea 's programme is plutonium-based; Pakistan 's is mainly uranium-based. There may be suspicions about the diversion of plutonium from North Korean nuclear facility for this.

When her comments were sought on the statement by the veteran APHC leader Syed Ali Shah Gailani that Pakistan 's policy on Kashmir had a negative effect on the freedom struggle there, the spokesperson said:

I have read about Syed Ali Shah Gillani sahib's statement. Of course these are his views. He has, of course, the right to express his views and one does not necessarily have to agree with his views. We do not comment on the statements and views of individual leaders. What we hope to achieve through this peace process is a solution of the Kashmir dispute that is acceptable to all the stakeholders i.e. Pakistan , India and particularly the people of Kashmir .

When her comments were sought on the reported demand by some BJP leaders that India should launch a preemptive strike in order to destroy the terrorist camps inside Pakistani territory, the spokesperson said:

The BJP was making the allegations even when it was in power that there were these so-called terrorist training camps. It was again during the BJP rule that India had deployed one million soldiers on our borders. Did they think about the preemptive strikes then? Did they think it was possible?

Asked whether Pakistan had officially requested India for the release of Afzal Guru or discussed this issue, the spokesperson said:

We have not discussed the issue with India . However, we know that his family members have appealed for clemency. At this stage, we would not comment on it.

When her attention was drawn to the news stories suggesting that the rockets discovered in the vicinity of the capital had come from Afghanistan , the spokesperson said:

I am not aware of that. Perhaps the Ministry of Interior or DG ISPR can enlighten you on this issue.