Pakistan and China have initiated cooperation on fighting corruption, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
“I can confirm you that politically Pakistan and China are actively cooperating in fight against terrorism,” Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Faisal told a weekly press briefing here at the Foreign Office.
China had assured the government of Pakistan of supporting its agenda of fighting corruption during a recent meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Minister for International Development of the Communist Party of China Song Tao here in Islamabad.
To a question whether Pakistan would conform to the Chinese model of anti-corruption, the spokesman said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) would be dealing with the matter.
The spokesman said Pakistan wanted the military forces of the United States to continue with their presence in Afghanistan till completion of the agenda of peace. When asked if Pakistan’s stance could invite the ire of Taliban, he said Pakistan in fact did not want to experience the same chaos as it did after the USSR abruptly left Afghanistan in late 90s. He said the presence of American and other allied forces in Afghanistan were under the mandate given by the United Nations.
He said there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict. “Negotiated settlement is the most viable option and we are pleased that other important actors are also arriving at the same conclusion and exploring the possibilities of peace and reconciliation. Pakistan welcomes efforts for negotiated settlement and will extend all possible support in this regard,” he added.
The spokesman said there was no change in Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue. He said the new government was continuing with the same policy on Kashmir and mentioned the prime minister’s initiative of writing a letter to his Indian counterpart for holding talks on important issues including Kashmir and terrorism. “Pakistan’s position on Kashmir is based on principles and is undeterred,” he added.
The spokesman mentioned the blatant human rights violations in the Indian-held Kashmir and said the culprits involved in rape and murder of eight-year-old Muslim girl Asifa were still at large despite availability of the authentic forensic evidence.
The spokesman reiterated a call for a thorough and independent investigation into use of chemical weapons by Indian forces in the occupied valley. “Indian forces are committing heinous crimes in occupied Kashmir and the same was documented by the UN Human Rights Commission in its recent report,” he said.
To a question on news reports about India’s plan to suspend flight operations of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), he said the PIA had been facing problems with regularization of its accounts in India and the matter was sub judice in a Delhi court.
He said despite repeated requests, India was delaying the visa extension of PIA manager and his family, forcing them to return to Pakistan.
He called upon India to facilitate the PIA official under the air services agreement between the two countries, which otherwise could be harmful to the bilateral relations and people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and India.
To a question about progress on CASA-1000, the spokesman said during the meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the president of Tajikistan on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of Government Conclave in Dushanbe, the two sides stressed on fast-tracking the project for ensuring establishment of an energy corridor in the region.
Regarding the abduction of Iranian border guards near Pak-Iran border, the FO spokesman said, “Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has telephoned Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the situation. The director generals of military operations of the two countries are also in touch with each other to coordinate security and rescue efforts.”
Published in Daily Times, October 19th 2018.
