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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 30/10/2006

RECORD OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESPERSON ON 30 OCTOBER 2006

Opening Statement

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived here last night on their first ever visit to Pakistan . The visit will last till 3 November. During their stay in Pakistan , they will separately meet the President and the First Lady as well as the Prime Minister and Begum Rukhsana Aziz. Their itinerary includes visits to Peshawar , Azad Kashmir, Lahore and Skardu. The President will also host a banquet in the honour of the Prince of Wales. He will also inspect four regiments associated with the regiments of which Prince Charles is Colonel-in-Chief.

The highlights of the Prince of Wales' activities in Pakistan include Youth Business International event in the Prime Minister House, interaction with NGOs, visit to a Madrassa, a roundtable on inter-faith dialogue, tour of the earthquake affected areas in particular the projects of the British Red Cross and ERRA, community based initiatives and projects that promote sustainable development. During these visits possibility will be explored of engaging the Prince's Trust that supports activities in the areas of enterprize, educaton, health, environment, responsible business, youth and arts.

The main objective of the visit of the Prince of Wales is to support Pakistan-UK partnership and to highlight the shared heritage and community links between Pakistan and the UK . The themes of the visit are inter-faith issues, education and youth entrepreneurship and sustainable development. The Prince has already met the President.

Question/Answer Session

Asked to confirm reports that British Prime Minister was going to visit Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

Yes the British Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Pakistan . We will announce his visit and the details pertaining to his visit shortly.

Asked about the details of the forthcoming visit to Pakistan by the Foreign Ministers of Belgium and Holland , the spokesperson said:

That is right. We expect these visits during the month of November. There are a number of visits this month from Europe .

In response to a question about the recent contacts made by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai with the leadership of a nationalist party in Pakistan , the spokesperson said:

We are aware of the messages that President Karzai has sent to some Pakistani leaders. We are not aware of the contents of these messages, but apparently these are motivated by the understanding that was reached by our President and his Afghan counterpart during the aftaar dinner hosted by the President Bush for both of them in Washington . The understanding related to the convening of Jirgas in the two countries. At present we do not have the modalities and composition of these Jirgas. However, once these details are worked out, the Foreign Minister intends to visit Afghanistan to discuss it further with his Afghan counterpart.

When her attention was drawn to various statements by the new Foreign Minister of India encapsulating both allegations as well as promises of cooperation, the spokesperson said:

The statements emanating from New Delhi after the Havana meeting seem to have a domestic context. I would not comment on that.

Asked, with reference to the recent statement of the APHC leader Mir Waiz Umar Farooq, whether the visit of the APHC delegation to Pakistan was really on the cards, the spokesperson said:

We have no information about the APHC delegation's visit to Pakistan .

Asked whether the Bajour operation was aimed at any high-value targets, and if any foreigners were killed during the bombardment, the spokesperson said:

DG ISPR has already made a statement about the Bajaur operation. I do not have anything to add to that.

Asked whether the Bajour operation was launched under NATO pressure, and if the peace process based on the Jirga system would continue even now, the spokesperson said:

It was not outside influence or pressure. It was part of the actions taken by the Government to establish peace and security in the area. I am the appropriate person to address questions related to this operation.

When asked to comment on various statements reportedly made by NATO and western media about Pakistan 's alleged involvement in Afghanistan , the spokesperson said:

A number of statements have been attributed to NATO senior officials about the alleged movement of militants across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. I am not in a position to confirm that these statements have been really made. Recently, some statements were attributed to the NATO Chief, but when he came here, he completely disassociated himself from those statements. The enormity of the problems and the challenges in Afghanistan that confront the NATO and Pakistan , as a neighbour, are such that they cannot be addressed by simplistic statements which try to shift responsibility to Pakistan to bring about a change in the situation. It would be very naïve to believe that Pakistan alone can change the situation which requires a comprehensive approach that also focuses on reconstruction and reconciliation.

When her comments were sought on the allegations made by the NATO commanders that movement across the Durand Line had increased in the wake of Waziristan peace deal, the spokesperson said:

I think I have already addressed that question. We understand that NATO is seeking to conclude similar agreements inside Afghanistan . We understand that two such agreements have already been concluded. I find that surprising that ant NATO commander would say that while the organization is itself concluding similar agreements.

When her comments were sought on the situation in Bangladesh especially since India had, in keeping with its policy of interference in the internal affairs of its neighbours had made comments, the spokesperson said:

We would like to see political stability and economic prosperity in Bangladesh , and wish them well. But I would not like to comment on the situation which is essentially their internal matter.

Asked whether the Prince of Wales in his meeting with the President raised the issue of Mirza Tahir Hussain, the spokesperson said:

I understand the Prince discussed the earthquake rehabilitation, the situation in Afghanistan and the cooperation between the two countries in counter-terrorism with the President. He expressed Britain 's appreciation of Pakistan 's support. The President conveyed Pakistani nation's appreciation for the assistance provided by Britain after the earthquake hit Pakistan last year.

Asked whether Pakistan and India have shown flexibility in their respective positions on Siachin because Foreign Minister Kasuri suggested the other day that they were close to reaching an agreement on the issue, the spokesperson said:

We believe that all issues between Pakistan and India including that of Siachin and the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir are resolvable. If we did not believe that there would not have been no point in holding the dialogue that is underway between the two countries. The Foreign Minister was speaking in that context and he feels optimistic that given the political will, the Siachin issue can be resolved. You would recall that in 1989 the two countries were very close to signing an agreement. We do believe that this is an issue that can be resolved and it is a process. The Foreign Minister did not say that an agreement has reached. He was basically expressing the hope and that is because we believe that all these issues can be resolved. I would not get into whether or not any country has moved from its position.

In response to a question about the Human Rights violations in the Indian Held Kashmir particularly the attack on Yasin Malik, the spokesperson said:

We condemn these human rights violations. We remain seriously concerned about the human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.

Asked about Pakistan 's expectations from the forthcoming second round of Pak-US strategic dialogue, the spokesperson said:

Mr. Nicholas Burns' visit to the region has been postponed. He was visiting Pakistan , India and Afghanistan but due to some pressing engagements the visit will be rescheduled.

Asked if this has dashed the hopes of progress in the Strategic Dialogue, the Spokesperson said:

We should not read too much into it. It was just a scheduling problem and the visit will take place at a later date.

When asked to comment on a statement by a former official of ISI that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was an ISI contact who used to report to the retired Colonel, the Spokesperson said: