By Naveed Siddiqui
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday ruled out possibility of holding talks with the terrorist organization, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and asked Afghan authorities to take action against the terror groups.
“We have no plans to hold these talks with TTP and we expect the Afghan authorities to take action against these terror groups and their leadership for the crimes they are committing and the terrorist attacks for which they are responsible in Pakistan,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch told a weekly news briefing in response to a question on Afghan deputy interior minister’s remarks. She added that Pakistan and TTP will not sit together. Afghan minister on Wednesday advised both Pakistan and TTP to sit together for peace.
She added that there have been repeated incidents of terrorism inside Pakistan which have been sponsored by individuals who are currently based inside Afghanistan. “We expect the Afghan authorities to take urgent, immediate action against all terror groups,” she added.
Pakistan also expressed its desire to work with the United States in various areas, including security domain to discuss and exchange experiences in fighting the global threat of terrorism.
Speaking at her weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan has always said that it would like to learn from the experience of countries which have been fighting the global threat of terrorism.
Commenting on the remarks of her counterpart from the US State Department, she said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Joe Biden have expressed an interest in working closely to realize common objectives of global peace, and regional stability and socio-economic development.
“There are a number of areas in the security domain where Pakistan and the United States can discuss and exchange information and exchange experiences especially in fighting terrorism,” she said.
About Besham terrorist attack in which five Chinese nationals were killed, she said that Pakistan remains committed to fight all terror groups and all forces which have targeted Pakistan and have targeted symbols of Pakistan-China Friendship, including the latest attack in Besham.
“Pakistan is in the process of completing the various aspects of investigation into the terrorist attack in Besham and when we have complete details, we will be sharing with the media…if there is a clear connection, Pakistan will surely raise this concern with the Afghan authorities,” she said.
To another query about the recent visit of the Chinese inter-agency delegation to the country, she said that this was security delegation, led by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Headed by Bai Tian, Director General of external security department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the purpose of the delegation’s visit was to exchange views on the safety and security of Chinese nationals and to further deepen our existing cooperation in the field of counterterrorism.
“The meetings were fairly substantive, both in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Interior Ministry and with our law enforcement authorities,” she added.
As far as the Chinese hydropower projects are concerned, she added that there was a temporary suspension and following the security audit and enhancement of security measures, these projects are now functional.
To a question about One Visa Regime for Afghanistan, she said that there is no change in Pakistan’s position with respect to One Document Regime, adding that Pakistan has said that it will continue to maintain that travel of foreigners to the country should take place on valid visas on their national passports.
Responding to another query, she said that Pakistan and Iran have re-engaged and revived all bilateral channels of communication that existed prior to January and there are number of areas of cooperation including in the trade domain.
She said that a high level delegation from Iran is currently in Pakistan where all aspects of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran will be discussed.
She added that people of Pakistan and the government of Pakistan are looking forward to the visit of the Iranian President at an early date.
About the Chahbahar terror attack, she said that Pakistan strongly and vehemently condemns terrorism and specifically this attack that is taking place in Iran against the government and civilian facilities.
“The people of Pakistan and the government of Pakistan stand in solidarity with their Iranian brothers and sisters and we have always said that we would like to work with Iran to find joint solutions to the terror threat,” she added.
When asked about the Palestinians’ fresh bid for the UN membership, she said that Pakistan recognizes the state of Palestine and will support any such move at the UN.
Condemning the ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza, she called for international accountability of Israel for its crimes against humanity.
Expressing concerns over the Indian occupation authorities’ decision to deny permission to hold Eid ul Fitr prayers at Eidgah in Srinagar, she urged the Indian authorities to respect the rights of the people of IIOJK to peaceful assembly and to freely practice their religion.
She said Pakistan will continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people for the just and peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
