Responding to questions during a weekly press briefing, Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday denied any resumption of peace talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), stressing that Islamabad will not negotiate with individuals responsible for killing of Pakistani civilians and law enforcement officials.
“I would like to invite you to a statement made by our foreign minister, in which [he] stated that Pakistan will not negotiate with individuals who are responsible for killing of Pakistani civilians and law enforcement officials,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch to queries about reports that tribal elders had visited Kabul to revive talks with the militants.
To another question on media reports that the Afghan Taliban had started relocating the TTP to the northern part of Afghanistan, the spokesperson emphasized that the counterterrorism threat remained high on the government’s agenda. “We are regularly engaged with the interim Afghan government on countering the menace of terrorism,” she said, adding it was an ongoing process. “We hope and expect that the commitments made, including in the trilateral outcome declaration between Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, will be fulfilled so that Afghanistan is not a source of terrorism and instability faced by its neighbors, including Pakistan,” she said. “It is important that the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan does not endanger the lives of Pakistani people, Pakistani civilians and personnel of Pakistani law enforcement agencies,” she added.
At the outset of her briefing, Baloch offered condolences on the boat capsizing off the coast of Greece in which over 100 Pakistanis have reportedly died. “To recap, 12 Pakistani nationals are among the 104 survivors. They are in good physical condition. Unfortunately, we have been unable to verify the number and identity of Pakistani nationals among the deceased and missing, she said, adding that identification of 82 bodies recovered by Greek authorities would occur via DNA matching. “Ambassador Aamar Aftab and his team at our Mission in Greece have worked round the clock for recovery and identification of Pakistani nationals who are missing or feared dead and for providing relief to the survivors,” she said, adding Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also spoken to his Greek counterpart to discuss the situation.
The spokesperson also confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had received an official invitation from his Indian counterpart to attend a virtual meeting of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on July 4. “Pakistan will be represented at the summit,” she said.
To a question on Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Baloch described his case as an “unfortunate” situation. “He has been convicted on trumped up and fabricated charges. It is a reflection of India’s determination to persecute and silence the voice of Kashmiri leadership,” she said, adding Pakistan has condemned such efforts and calls on India to free Malik. “He should be able to meet his family. He should be able to travel freely; and he should be able to represent the Kashmiri people as is his right,” she added.
Responding to a query on a recent interview of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar in which she said Pakistan did not want to be pushed into a cold war between the U.S. and China, the spokesperson clarified the statement was in the context of certain international developments. “Pakistan is among those countries that have very good relations with both China and the United States,” she said, reiterating Islamabad does not wish to be part of any bloc. “We would like to develop our relations with all our friends, as we have done in the past, in all areas of cooperation, and we hope that Pakistan-China friendship and Pakistan-United States friendship will continue to move forward from strength to strength without any obstacle,” she added.
During her briefing, Baloch also announced that the 13th session of the Pakistan-European Union Joint Commission was currently underway in Brussels, adding they had already discussed the two sides’ development partnership, GSP Plus and the upcoming new GSP Plus scheme, and market access for Pakistan. She said the foreign minister would undertake an official visit to Japan on July 2-3 at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart to discuss bilateral trade and investment, cooperation in science and technology, education, information technology, culture and human resource development. Similarly, she said, the second round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Pakistan and Kazakhstan would be held on June 26 in Astana.
The spokesperson further offered Pakistan’s condemnation of a recent raid by Israeli occupation forces on the Jenin refugee camp, in which four Palestinians, including a 14-year-old, were killed and more than 40 civilians injured. She also referred to the World Refugee Day commemorated earlier this week, noting it was a reminder of the suffering of Kashmiris who have been evicted from their land and forced to live in exile. “They were forced to flee violence, persecution and gross human rights abuses,” she said, as she called on India to bring an end to the climate of fear and persecution in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. “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 U.N. Security Council Resolutions,” she added.