No dialogue is taking place with India: FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch
ISLAMABAD, May 09 (SABAH): Foreign Office has rejected the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s report as faulty and non-reflective of ground realities in Pakistan.
At her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the report is based on unsubstantiated allegations.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan believes that USCIRF’s annual exercise of designating countries is unwarranted and futile. The futility can be gauged by the fact that since 2020 the US State Department has ignored its recommendations to declare India a country of particular concern. She said this exercise will have more credibility if it were free of double standards and geo political considerations and if it paid increased attention to the glaring rise of Islamophobia.
The FO Spokesperson said such arbitrary designations also undermine the objective of fostering understanding and cooperation which can be achieved through dialogue and constructive engagement.
Responding to a question, the spokesperson said no dialogue is taking place with India. She welcomed the reaffirmation by the OIC for its strong and unequivocal position on Jammu and Kashmir dispute at the recently concluded 15th Islamic summit in the Gambia.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan welcomes the reaffirmation by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation of its strong and unequivocal position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute during the just-concluded 15th Islamic Summit of the OIC held in Banjul, the Gambia on 4-5 May 2024.
She said that the Summit’s Final Communiqué and the ‘Banjul Declaration’ reaffirmed unwavering support for and solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their quest for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The Summit also called on India to revoke all unilateral and illegal actions taken since 5 August 2019 in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and respect the rights and freedoms of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The Summit emphasized that the settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was indispensable for a durable peace in South Asia.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir was the only OIC contact group which met on the sidelines of the Islamic Summit, reflecting OIC’s strong solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their right to self-determination.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan also welcomes the report of the OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir on his visit to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The report highlights India’s continuing violations of international law in IIOJK.
FO spokesperson said that the OIC resolutions and pronouncements are the collective voice of the Islamic world and reinforce Pakistan’s call for settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
She said that Pakistan will continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.
The spokesperson said Pakistan is concerned about the terror threat it faces from individuals and entities in Afghanistan. She said we have also found evidence that the attack on Chinese engineers in Besham has links with the terrorists currently residing inside the neighboring country. She said the planning of this attack took place in Afghanistan.
She called upon the Afghan authorities to take meaningful and effective against the terrorist groups including the TTP.
She said that the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Saidov is currently in Pakistan on an official visit. On Wednesday, he called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. He has held a joint meeting with the Minister for Commerce; the Minister for Privatization, Communications, and Board of Investment; and the Minister for National Food Security & Research, and Industries & Production.
She said that in the meetings held thus far, the two sides have reaffirmed multi-faceted and robust partnership between Pakistan and Uzbekistan and agreed to enhance close security and defence cooperation and robust engagement at multilateral fora such as UN, SCO and OIC. The two sides also agreed to enhance economic cooperation, trade, investment and connectivity between Pakistan and Uzbekistan and reaffirmed their commitment to the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, arrived in Islamabad this morning as a special envoy of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrehman bin Jassim Al Thani. He is meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. The two sides will discuss areas of bilateral engagement and cooperation with a particular focus on energy-related cooperation and deepening of trade and investment ties. Regional and global developments are also on the agenda.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli settlers’ attack on Jordanian aid convoy carrying humanitarian assistance to occupied Gaza. It is not just a flagrant violation of the obligations of the occupying power but a dangerous provocation that may lead to further escalation of tensions in the region.
She said that Pakistan condemns in the strongest terms the invasion and seizure of the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza by Israeli occupation forces in defiance of international warnings and acceptable international behaviour.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that with its latest actions, Israeli occupation authorities have once again demonstrated their contempt for international humanitarian law as they continue to pursue an abhorrent policy of genocide and extermination in Gaza. For months, they have bombed, starved and humiliated the people of Gaza. And they now are moving forward to forcibly displace civilians from the last remaining shelter for millions fleeing from the inhumane assault in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip.
She said that these war crimes and crimes against humanity must end. We call on the international community to take urgent measures to bring an end to this aggression and genocide. Measures should be taken to fully protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law and the occupation forces must be held accountable for the Gaza genocide.