Pakistan strongly condemns the provocative statement made by Indian Defence Minister: FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch

ISLAMABAD, July 27 (SABAH): Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch says Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any aggression as demonstrated in its forceful response to India’s misadventure in February 2019.  

At her weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan strongly condemns the provocative statement made by Indian Defence Minister.

The Indian media had quoted Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as saying that if need arose, the Indian army would not hesitate to cross the Line of Control. The FO Spokesperson said these unwarranted and totally unacceptable remarks reflect India’s hostility against its neighbours, Pakistan in particular.

She said we counsel India to exercise utmost caution as its belligerent rhetoric is a threat to the regional peace and stability, and contributes to destabilizing the strategic environment in South Asia. The FO Spokesperson said Pakistan will continue to act responsibly and contribute to all efforts for promoting peace, security and stability in the region.

She said that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognized disputed territory. India’s claims on Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are founded in fantasy. Neither history and international law, nor morality and the situation on ground can validate India’s illusions. It should, therefore, direct its attention to full implementation of the relevant UNSC resolutions which stipulate that the final disposition of the territory will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.

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.

FO spokesperson said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had an active agenda over the last several days. He held important telephone conversations with a number of his counterparts and leaders of international organizations and institutions. These include: Foreign Minister of Iran, Dr. Hossien Amir Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General, Hissein Brahmin Taha, and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

She said that in these conversations, bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest were discussed. The main purpose of these calls was to discuss two key issues of concern to Pakistan: the alarming rise of Islamophobia and religious hatred directed against Muslims, and discussions pertaining to the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI).

“You would recall the Black Sea Grain Initiative was discussed between the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Ukraine last week. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had expressed a willingness to engage with relevant parties to promote dialogue and consultation for the revival of the Initiative” MUmtaz Zahra Baloch said.

She said that Foreign Minister discussed BSGI in the telephone conversations with the Foreign Minister of Turkiye and Russia, the US Secretary of State and the EU High Representative, and the UN Secretary General. He shared with them Pakistan’s concerns pertaining to food security and inflation resulting from BSGI’s expiry. He underscored the need for concerted efforts to revive the deal, taking into account the concerns of the relevant parties on the basis of mutual accommodation. Foreign Minister also shared Pakistan’s readiness to contribute to collective efforts in that regard.

MUmtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan strongly condemns the desecration of the Holy Quran and dishonoring of the Pakistani flag in front of the Embassy of Pakistan in Copenhagen, Denmark. A strong protest has been lodged with the Government of Denmark. We expect the Danish authorities to take all measures necessary to stop such acts of hatred and incitement.

The intent of such evil acts is to insult two billion Muslims around the world and create friction amongst communities, cultures, and countries. These acts, by any definition, do not constitute freedom of expression. Nor can the permission to carry out provocative acts of religious hatred be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression, opinion and protest. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said, “speech and inflammatory acts against Muslims are offensive, irresponsible and wrong”.

MUmtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan has always maintained that freedom of expression comes with responsibilities. It is the responsibility of national governments, regional organizations and the international community at large to call out, condemn and proactively prevent the vile acts of Islamophobia and religious hatred. As urged by the UN Human Rights Council, the relevant countries must address, prevent and prosecute such acts of religious hatred. The international community must raise its collective voice against Islamophobia and work together to promote inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence.

Pakistan, for its part, will continue to raise the question of Islamophobia at the international level. This issue was a key point of telephone conversations of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye and with Secretary General of OIC and the UN Secretary General. Issues pertaining to these recurrent acts of Islamophobia are being discussed at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah and the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Last week Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also signed the ‘‘Host Country Agreement’’ between Pakistan and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which was co-signed by President of IFAD Alvaro Lario. As a result of the Agreement, IFAD will set up its Country Office in Islamabad. The Agreement formalizes the already existing substantial cooperation with IFAD whose current portfolio across Pakistan totals US$ 673 million, which is the second highest IFAD undertaking in the world” she said.

She said that the UN Special Coordinator on Afghanistan, Feridun Sinirlioğlu visited Pakistan 24-25 July 2023.  In Islamabad, he held meetings with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Foreign Secretary, Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Special Representative on Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Durrani, and Secretary, States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Division, Pervaiz Ahmed Junejo. The discussions focused on the importance of a coherent international strategy to engage with the Afghan Interim Government.

While updating about the Greek Boat Tragedy, FO spokesperson said that the mortal remains of 15 Pakistanis who perished in the disaster have arrived in Pakistan and handed over to their families in the districts of Gujarat, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Vehari and Mirpur (AJK). Our Mission in Greece facilitated the process of retrieval and transportation of the dead bodies. The Greek authorities have also informed that they have completed the process of DNA matching of the retrieved dead bodies. No additional Pakistani national has been identified among the deceased, she said.