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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 16/10/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 16 OCTOBER 2006

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

Question/Answer Session

When her comments were sought on the reported statement by the Indian Prime Minister that India would test Pakistan 's sincerity by providing evidence of Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai blasts, the spokesperson said:

I do not know what that really means. We have not received any evidence from India on the alleged involvement of Pakistani elements in Mumbai blasts. If there are references to institutional mechanism to fight terrorism, it has to be understood that both countries have agreed to help each other. It is not one-way traffic. The agreement on institutional mechanism does not mean that only Pakistan has to do something. The language is quite clear. It applies to India as well. India also has to prove its sincerity and resolve not to support terrorism inside Pakistan . As for the Mumbai blasts evidence, you are already aware of the statements of the seven accused that they were tortured to make confessions and to sign on blank papers. This comes after the Mumbai Police Commissioner's irresponsible statement about the so called proof of Pakistani agencies' involvement that we had rejected. It requires a little bit of humility now on the Indian side.

Asked about Pakistan 's expectations from the UN Secretary General-designate Ban Ki-Moon about the resolutions of outstanding issues including that of Jammu and Kashmir , the spokesperson said:

We have welcomed Mr. Ban Ki-Moon's election. Both the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan have congratulated him. Of course Pakistan has supported his election. The Secretary General of the UN has very onerous responsibilities that range from leading and shaping efforts to maintain international peace and security to providing guidelines to various organs of United Nations dealing with economic and other activities. We believe Mr. Ban Ki-Moon's is well-equipped to handle these responsibilities. He has the necessary experience for the job. Of course, the Secretary General of the United Nations has an important role to play in addressing and encouraging the resolution of disputes both new as well as long-standing disputes in various parts of the world. It is our expectation that the new Secretary General will play his due role for the resolution of disputes including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Asked about the agenda of the Chinese President's visit to Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

This is being worked out. It is too early to discuss the agenda of his visit.

When her comments were sought on the reported statement by the Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta that Pakistan was trying to play down the threat of international terrorism by labeling the Taliban uprising in Afghanistan an ethnic issue and that he had reportedly accused Pakistan of supporting terrorists, the spokesperson said:

The Afghan Foreign Minister seemed to be reacting now to an event that took place more than a month ago. This relates to the misrepresentation of the President's remarks at the Foreign Relations Committee of the European Parliament. Perhaps the Afghan Foreign Minister did not know that we had immediately clarified the President's remarks. We however, have to accept the ethnic composition and the character of Taliban. It is not a secret. It is known to everyone that they are overwhelmingly Pashtuns. It is also a well known fact that the Taliban are conducting their operations inside Afghanistan with the help and assistance of the local disillusioned population. We talked about the UN Secretary General's recent report at the last briefing. It specifically mentions the command centers and structures of the insurgency which are located inside Afghanistan . The Afghan government needs to focus on addressing its internal problems of governance.

Asked about Pakistan 's reaction to the UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea , and whether Pakistan was going to impose any additional sanctions on DPRK, the spokesperson said:

Pakistan has always supported a negotiated, peaceful settlement of the crisis. We regret that the situation in the Korean peninsula reached such a stage that led to adoption of a resolution by the Security Council imposing sanctions against the People's Democratic Republic of Korea. As a responsible member of the international community, we will abide by the UN Security Council resolution. We, however, believe that sanctions are not an end in themselves. And we would like to see the six-party talks resumed at the earliest in order to find a solution to this issue.

Asked whether Pakistan was going to impose any additional sanctions on DPRK, the spokesperson said:

No. Pakistan has no intention of imposing any additional sanctions. They Security Council resolution specifies areas for sanctions and we will abide by that.

In response to a question about the television interview of the former Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad Khan in which he criticized the present foreign policy, the spokesperson said:

These are his views. I do not comment on the individual opinions.

Asked about the dates of the India-Pakistan Foreign Secretary-level talks, the spokesperson said:

The talks would be held in November but at the moment we do not have the exact dates. The two sides are in touch.

Asked whether Pakistani prisoners have been released from the Guantanamo Bay , the spokesperson said:

You will have to check with the Ministry of Interior. Six Pakistani detainees at Guantanamo Bay were to be released. The procedure for their release was completed earlier. Whether they are actually in Pakistan or not, the Ministry of Interior can confirm.

Asked to justify her claim in an interview to a private TV channel that India-Pakistan relations were improving, the spokesperson said:

My comments must have had a specific context. Yes relations between Pakistan and India have improved. There was a time when India had deployed one million soldiers on our borders threatening war. The international community feared that a war might break out. We have come a long way from that. We have put in place many confidence building measures. We are holding talks. This dialogue is taking place at various levels. The leadership of the two countries is interacting. We are now talking about building on our convergences and narrowing down our divergences on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. People to people contacts have increased. These are all signs of improved relations.

Asked how she would characterize Pakistan 's relations with North Korea , especially since Pakistan had deplored the North Korean nuclear tests and whether the UN resolution would impact Pakistan 's cooperation with North Korea , the spokesperson said:

Our statement on the DPRK tests should not undermine our relations. We have diplomatic relations with North Korea . We have cooperation with them in various fields. We will abide by the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council but our diplomatic relations, our trade relations and relations in areas that do not fall under sanctions would continue.

Asked about the schedule for sending the Pakistan Army contingents to Lebanon , the spokesperson said:

There is no schedule as yet.

In response to a question about the detention of Afzal Guru, the spokesperson said:

I had stated Pakistan 's position at the last briefing.