Pakistan ‘in constant touch’ with Afghanistan over terror resurgence
ISLAMABAD: According to the Foreign Office (FO), Pakistan is “in constant touch” with the Afghan interim administration regarding the uptick in terrorist attacks and cross-border violence on Thursday.
“We have agreed to continue established institutional mechanism with Afghanistan to prevent such incidents,” FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly press briefing.
The answer to a query regarding the battles between the security forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Chaman-Spin Boldak region.
The spokesperson claimed that Pakistan has reminded the Afghan government that both sides were accountable for protecting civilians.
“Pakistan remains committed to maintaining its fraternal relations with Afghanistan and ensuring that peace is maintained,” she said.
She underlined Pakistan’s ongoing engagement with international parties, particularly Afghanistan, to prevent Pakistan from being impacted by terrorists coming from Afghan territory.
The spokesperson hoped that the Afghan government would try to uphold its promises to Pakistan not to permit the use of its land against its neighbour.
Baloch responded that Pakistan and China were close strategic partners and that Pakistan was leveraging China’s influence to oppose the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the context of the country’s engagement with Afghanistan.
To a question about the number of foreign visits by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto after assuming office, she shared a list of the countries — Saudi Arabia (twice), United Arab Emirates (twice), United States (thrice), China (twice), Switzerland, Iran, Uzbekistan (twice), Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Germany, Egypt, Indonesia and Singapore.
In response to the delay in the disbursement of salaries to Pakistan’s missions abroad, the spokesperson said the process that faced suspension due to a “very complicated” issue pertaining to the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank, and the international channels had been restored. “Soon all the missions will have their requisite funds,” she said.
There has been no change in the position of Indian Navy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is being executed in Pakistan, she responded when asked about it.
The spokesman announced that Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister, will visit Pakistan this week to lead a high-level delegation to the Pakistan-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Joint Commission (IJC), a crucial framework for fostering mutually beneficial collaboration.
According to her, the meeting’s main topics will be collaboration in banking, higher education, tourism, agriculture, energy, transport, and industry. It will also cover commerce and investment.
The Indian delegation politicised an international platform once more to advance its objective to target and defame Pakistan, according to the FO spokesperson’s statement from last week.
She further said that India has been pursuing a similar strategy in the UN Security Council (UNSC) by politicising the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) process for the past few years to stop Pakistan from being removed from the grey list.
“For a country that has a grandiose vision about itself and its place in the world, India has been unable to act as a responsible member of the international community that can assume new privileges that it aspires,” she said.
According to Baloch, India pretended to be a victim of terrorism while actually engaging in repression in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IIOJK) and supporting and funding terrorist organisations throughout South Asia, including those in Pakistan.
“We are concerned about the rise of extremist nationalism in India and its expansionist designs for the region. We still await condemnation from the Indian leadership on the recent call for violence and assassination by a BJP leader from Bhagpat,” she said.
Pakistan ‘in constant touch’ with Afghanistan over terror resurgence
The spokesperson claimed that properties belonging to Kashmiris, including those set aside for educational institutions providing free education to underprivileged Kashmiris, were being sealed by the occupation authorities. In Barzulla Srinagar, a property owned by the late Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Gillani has also been designated for the shutdown.
“India must be held accountable for these grave injustices. The only way to lasting peace in South Asia is by granting the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” she stressed.
