No ambiguity in Pakistan Kashmir policy: Foreign Office

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (Online): There is no ambiguity in Pakistan Kashmir policy and Kashmir dispute is integral part of Pakistan foreign policy.
This was said by Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch here during weekly press briefing Thursday

She held Pakistan wants resolution of Kashmir issue as per UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Pakistan has and will continue to highlight Kashmir issue on every forum.

She observed Deputy Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasir bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood visited Pakistan on 16 – 17 May 2023. He called on the Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and the Minister of Narcotics Control. During the visit two sides also signed the Agreement on Road to Makkah Project. Road to Makkah project is a mechanism for shifting immigration and customs clearance process from Saudi Arabia to Islamabad International Airport aimed to relieve Hujjaj from the ordeal of immigration and customs clearance on landing at Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The two sides will remain engaged to expand the number of airports in Pakistan to benefit from this facility.

She held Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is at the Pakistan-Iran border today where he will meet President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ebrahim Raisi. In their meeting, the two leaders will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties. They will inaugurate Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace and Polan-Gabd Electricity Transmission Line at Mand-Pishin border crossing point.

The Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace is one of the six border markets to be constructed along the Pakistan-Iran border as agreed under the MoU signed on 21st April 2021. The border markets are envisaged along the Pakistan-Iran border to facilitate the people on both sides of the border with enhanced cross-border trade, fostering economic growth and opening up of new avenues of opportunity for local businesses

We categorically reject the baseless assertions made about Pakistan in the International Religious Freedom Report released by the U.S. Department of State. Such ill-informed reporting exercises about internal affairs of sovereign states are pointless, irresponsible and counterproductive.

We are proud of our religious diversity and pluralistic social fabric. Pakistan’s Constitution, sets a robust framework for wide-ranging legal, policy and affirmative measures to safeguard and advance the rights and freedoms of all Pakistanis irrespective of their faith. These rights and constitutional guarantees are protected, upheld and reinforced by an independent judiciary.

We strongly believe that each State itself has the primary responsibility to promote and protect religious rights and freedoms of its nationals. With this understanding, Pakistan has always engaged constructively with the international community in promoting mutual understanding on the important question of religious freedom and minority rights. In our interactions, including with the United States, we have raised serious concerns about the steady surge in anti-Muslim hatred, racism and Islamophobia. We hope to work with international partners to counter these pernicious forms of religious intolerance, discrimination and Islamophobia.

Pakistan has been closely following the developments in Gaza and other Occupied Palestinian Territories and is concerned about the impact of violence on the civilian population. We strongly condemn the loss of precious lives of more than 33 Palestinians including women and children over the last several days and pray for the recovery of those injured. We call on Israel to adhere to its international obligations and respect the recent ceasefire agreement, ending days of bloodshed and indiscriminate use of force in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces.

Pakistan reaffirms its unstinted support for the Palestinian cause and renews its call for a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital as the only just, comprehensive and lasting solution of the Palestinian question, in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions.

Pakistan welcomes the important statement made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Affairs, Dr. Fernand de Varennes, on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). In this statement, the Special Rapporteur has warned against Indian plans to hold the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar, IIOJK. He has rightly said that India is providing a “veneer of support to a façade of normalcy” at a time when massive human rights violations, illegal and arbitrary arrests, political persecution, restrictions and even suppression of free media and human rights defenders continue to escalate. We agree with the Special Rapporteur that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be “decried and condemned, not pushed under the rug and ignored” with the holding of the G-20 meeting. Members of G20 should pay due attention to these observations and sage advice.

To a question she said that only interior ministry can tell about involvement of Afghan citizens in attacks on military installations. If information are provided by the interior ministry then we can contact Kabul on the matter.