FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch urges int’l community including OIC to play their role in highlighting the atrocities in IIOJK
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15, (SABAH): Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has urged the international community including the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to play their role in highlighting the atrocities in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The FO Spokesperson said peace in South Asia has remained hostage to India’s illegally occupation of and brutalities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. She said India’s hegemonic ambitions have caused tensions with its neighbors and its hubris for domination remains a primary obstacle to meaningful regional cooperation.
This was stated by Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch while speaking at her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.
FO spokesperson said that President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday on a two-day state visit to Pakistan. He held comprehensive delegation level talks with the Prime Minister on Wednesday. The Prime Minister also hosted a banquet in honor of President Rahmon on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning he held meetings with Minister for Defence Khwaja Muhammad Asif and Chairman Senate Mir Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani.
During the meetings, the two sides agreed to further deepen bilateral relationship and to raise it to strategic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries and peoples. It has been agreed that a bilateral Strategic Partnership Agreement will be finalized at the earliest.
She said that a number of Agreements and MOUs were signed on Wednesday in the areas of industry and new technologies; transit trade; combating trafficking in narcotics; cooperation between custom authorities on establishment electronic data interchange; research in the field of water resources; and cooperation in education. The two sides have also released a comprehensive Joint Statement that outlines understanding in a number of areas. The two sides will explore new avenues of cooperation in trade, investment, transport, energy, education, culture, and tourism and climate change issues. They have agreed to further boost multilateral cooperation for global and regional peace, stability and sustainable development.
The two sides have reaffirmed their commitment to complete connectivity projects like CASA-1000 which would open new avenues for future energy corridors. Pakistan also expressed support for Tajikistan’s membership of Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA).
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that as our closest neighbor in Central Asia, Tajikistan is an important partner for Pakistan. We believe that the on-going visit of Resident Rahmon to Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Dushanbe next year will advance cooperation and understanding between our two countries, she said.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is currently in New York to attend the Ministerial Conference of the G-77 and China on 15-16 December 2022. The agenda of the Conference includes discussion on multiple challenges being faced by the developing countries in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the face of Covid-19 pandemic, climate-induced disasters and geopolitical developments.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Minister participated in a high-level debate at the UN Security Council on “Reformed Multilateralism”. In his address, the Foreign Minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to multilateralism and the UN Charter. He called for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations and its different organs, as well as democratization of the global financial and economic institutions. The Foreign Minister stressed the importance of a plan for emergency actions and systemic reforms in the international financial, trade and technology architecture. He also presented a concrete plan of action for reviving effective multilateralism and underscored that reform of the Security Council must be decided by consensus and should improve democratization of the Council.
She said that the Foreign Minister also had important meetings with UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed and President of the UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, on Wednesday. During the meeting, he briefed them about Pakistan’s relief and recovery efforts in the wake of recent floods in Pakistan.
On Thursday morning, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a meeting with British Minister of State for South Asia & Commonwealth at FCDO, Lord Tariq Ahmad where matters of bilateral and regional cooperation were discussed.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha visited Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on his first country visit from 10-12 December 2022. During the visit, the Secretary General called on the Prime Minister of Pakistan and held delegation-level meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He also visited Azad Jammu and Kashmir where he met with the President and Prime Minister of AJK. He visited the Line of Control in Kashmir and met with victims of cross-LOC shelling, who shared details of their sufferings in an interactive session.
She said that the Secretary General shared his initial impressions about the situation in IIOJK in a joint media briefing with the Foreign Minister. He reaffirmed OIC’s commitment and solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and to their right to self-determination in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Secretary General’s visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir comes three years after India’s illegal and unilateral actions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK). The visit also marks implementation of a comprehensive Action Plan on IIOJK agreed by OIC at the 48th CFM held in Islamabad last March. The Secretary General will share his findings at the next CFM.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that among upcoming activities — I would like to share with media that the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan will be held in Geneva on 9th January 2023. The Prime Minister of Pakistan and the United Nations Secretary General will co-chair the Conference. Pakistan will present the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Recovery and Resilience Framework (4RF) at the Conference. This 4RF document is based on the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), launched on 28 October 2022, which estimated flood damages to exceed USD 14.9 billion, economic losses over USD 15.2 billion, and reconstruction needs over USD 16 billion.
She said that the Conference will engage the international community to mobilize support towards building back better after the devastating floods. It will also be an opportunity to hold an informed dialogue on climate adaptation and resilience, and to discuss supportive arrangements for the recovery processes. Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and the UN Secretary General António Guterres have jointly addressed an invitation letter to donor countries, international financial institutions, and other development partners for this Conference.
She said that on Wednesday, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar addressed a press conference, wherein she briefed on state terrorism against Pakistan – planned, conducted and funded by India. A comprehensive dossier in this context has been developed by Pakistan highlighting India’s involvement in a deadly terrorist attack that took place on 21 June 2021 in a peaceful neighborhood of Johar Town in Lahore.
She said that in the Lahore terrorist attack, three civilians lost their lives and over 24 were critically injured. Investigation by our Law Enforcement Agencies, with the support of international counterparts, have found concrete evidence that the masterminds, financiers and the facilitators of Lahore terrorist attack were Indian nationals and are located in India. Indian agencies recruited terrorists for this attack, trained them, provided them finances and logistic support. Pakistan has initiated international legal proceedings including from Interpol and Mutual Legal Assistance processes to bring those responsible to justice. Substantiated by forensic evidence, these findings have been documented in a dossier which was shared yesterday by Foreign Secretary Dr. Asad Majeed Khan with members of the diplomatic community.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson said a comprehensive dossier has been developed highlighting India’s involvement in a deadly terrorist attack in Johar Town, Lahore last year.
She said our law enforcement agencies with the support of international counterparts have found concrete evidence that the masterminds, financiers and the facilitators of Lahore terrorist attack were Indian nationals and are located in India.
She said the Indian agencies recruited terrorists for this attack, trained them, provided them finances and logistic support. Pakistan has initiated international legal proceedings including from Interpol and Mutual Legal Assistance processes to bring those responsible to justice.
Responding to a question, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch rejected the statement by the Indian External Affairs Ministry on the recent visit of the OIC Secretary General to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. She said we consider it as untenable. She said Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest internationally recognized disputes on the agenda of the UN Security Council and it remains unresolved due to India’s intransigence and unwillingness to implement the UNSC resolutions.