India must be held responsible for its unabated brutal repression of the innocent Kashmiris: FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad
ISLAMABAD, Nov 04, (SABAH): Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has said that we remain deeply concerned over the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). He said that only during the month of October, the Indian occupation forces in their continued acts of state terrorism martyred 14 Kashmiris in fake encounters and illegal custody. He said that Indian police, paramilitary personnel and notorious National Investigation Agency also arrested 47 people and destroyed a residential house during cordon and search operations and house raids in different areas of the occupied territory during the month. Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that Pakistan has consistently called upon the international community to shoulder its responsibility with regards to IIOJK. He said that India must be held responsible for its nefarious scheme of altering the demography of IIOJK, as well as its unabated brutal repression of the innocent Kashmiris.
This was stated by FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in a weekly press briefing on Friday. FO spokesperson said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif undertook official visit to the People’s Republic of China from 1-2 November. This was the Prime Minister Sharif’s first bilateral visit after assuming office and he was also one of the first leaders visiting China after the historic 20th National Congress of the CPC. During the visit, he held a number of meetings including with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress among others. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also accompanied during the meetings. The Foreign Minister also had a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The two sides held an in-depth exchange of views on a number of bilateral issues as well as on regional situation and international political landscape. Both sides reiterated mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests.
FO spokesperson said that the two sides agreed on the importance of China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership amidst the emerging global challenges. The leaders reaffirmed that close strategic ties and profound friendship between China and Pakistan was time-tested and resilient. During his meeting with President Xi, Prime Minister Sharif congratulated him on his re-election as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He also invited President Xi to visit Pakistan which he graciously accepted.
He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also briefed the Chinese leadership on post-flood relief and rehabilitation efforts. The Chinese side expressed its resolve to stand by Pakistan in these difficult times and to continue offering assistance to Pakistan for rehabilitation of the affected areas.
He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to high quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and highlighted the salience of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for Pakistan’s economic and social development. Various projects under CPEC including ML-1, Karachi Circular Railway, projects of the Gawadar port and free zone, cooperation in the areas of agriculture, mining, IT and socio-economic development were also discussed.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that the Prime Minister also addressed a China-Pakistan Business Forum that was attended by more than 500 Chinese entrepreneurs. Separate one-to-one meetings were also held with heads of key Chinese state owned and private enterprises.
Major outcomes of the visit are as follows:
• Pakistan and China agreed to continue to support each other on their core issues. Chinese leadership reiterated its principled support on Kashmir.
• There was complete consensus to accelerate high quality development of CPEC as flagship project of BRI. It was also agreed to fast-track implementation of ML-I and Karachi Circular Railway projects.
• China supported Pakistan’s initiative for developing solar energy potential and would encourage its companies to invest in solar energy projects in Pakistan.
• On bilateral trade, it was agreed to expand Pakistan’s exports, especially food and agro products. Both sides agreed to conduct a joint study for sharing of experience and expertise for enhancing bilateral trade.
• China agreed to provide an additional emergency relief package of RMB 500 million to help in post flood reconstruction and developing resilient infrastructure to mitigate future disasters.
• To support Pakistan’s agricultural production especially due to damage to our crops after floods, China would also provide 300,000 MT urea to Pakistan on G2G basis.
• Pakistan was also declared as the first priority partner country under GDI. An MOU was signed in this respect for cooperation and new projects in areas of health, education, agriculture and climate change.
• During the visit, several MoUs were concluded to expand cooperation in finance, E-commerce, digital economy, GDI and culture.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said that on 1st November, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari represented Pakistan at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (SCO-CHG) meeting held in Beijing in a virtual format. The CHG meeting deliberated upon vital regional and global issues of interest, adopted a Joint Communiqué and approved the SCO’s budget for 2023. It also discussed a comprehensive matrix for productive cooperation in trade and economy, transportation and connectivity, science & technology, climate change, culture, energy and tourism.
FO spokesperson said that in his address, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari highlighted the importance of enhancing economic and trade cooperation between SCO Member States and underscored that building greater connectivity across SCO region would help unlock the political and economic potential of intra-SCO cooperation. The Foreign Minister also stressed on the importance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which supplements SCO’s vision of shared prosperity through regional connectivity and integration.
He said that reflecting on the importance of achieving lasting peace and security in the region for economic development, the Foreign Minister stressed the need to address the scourge of terrorism in all its manifestations, including state terrorism. He also underlined the importance of sustained and practical engagement with Afghanistan in order to help the Afghan people overcome the humanitarian and economic crises afflicting their country.
Asim Iftikhar Ahamd said that a meeting of the Joint Working Group of the Political & Security Pillar of the Saudi Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC) was held in Islamabad on Thursday. The meeting was co-chaired by Acting Foreign Secretary, Jauhar Saleem, and Ambassador Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, in-depth discussions were held on wide- ranging topics of mutual interest and the two sides resolved to further strengthen the longstanding bilateral cooperation in political and security domains.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
He said that the media would have seen our categorical rejection of India’s baseless propaganda directed against Pakistan at the meeting of the UN Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) in Mumbai last week.
We have also strongly condemned the highly irresponsible, provocative and gratuitous remarks by the Indian Defence Minister at a public event on Kashmir Black Day in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be participating in COP-27 related Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh on 7-8 November. We will be sharing more details about that visit you in due course, he said.