Pakistan has reiterated that said it will continue to play a constructive role in the Afghan peace process. At his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan had worked closely with the United States to achieve durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said, we will continue to cooperate with the US and the international community towards that end. The spokesperson went on to say that it was Pakistan’s hope and desire that the Afghan peace process succeed and that Afghan parties agree to a common solution which is inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive. He reiterated that there was no military solution to the conflict.
When asked to comment on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani s recent statement in Capitol Hill, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said instead of playing the blame-game, the Afghan leadership should focus on fostering peace. The Foreign Office Spokesperson welcomed the UN Secretary General’s recent report to the UN Security Council which highlights the indiscriminate targeting of Kashmiris with pellet guns by Indian forces in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK). He called upon the international community to take cognisance of the plight of oppressed Kashmiri children.
On the meeting held in New Delhi last week between the Centre and some Kashmiri parties, he dismissed this as yet another attempt by the BJP government to further marginalise the Kashmiri people to perpetuate the ongoing illegal Indian occupation. He also described the meeting as further exposing the falsehood of the Indian narrative of so-called normalcy in the occupied valley. The spokesperson said any steps aimed at bringing about additional illegal change in the IHK will neither be accepted by the Kashmiris nor by Pakistan. He said the only viable option to resolving the Kashmir dispute was returning to UNSC resolutions to fulfil the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Responding to a question, the Foreign Office Spokesperson confirmed that Pakistan was participating as an observer in the Sea Breeze naval exercise hosted by Ukraine while keeping in perspective defence ties with Kyiv.
He recalled that Ukraine also participated in Aman 2021 exercise hosted by the Pakistan Navy. He said there was no change in Pakistan’s principled position on the Palestinian issue. He said, we have consistently called for two-state solutions with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds al Sharif as the capital of a Palestinian state.
The Foreign Office has said that the Pakistani embassy in Tehran has been in close contact with Iranian authorities since they closed the border with Pakistan due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding the border is open for bilateral trade.
Meanwhile Deputy Commissioner Chagai, Agha Sher Zaman confirmed that the border was closed only for Pakistani citizens wanting to visit Iran while those who were already there could return home provided that they had received a negative coronavirus test 48 hours prior to travelling, and after they had fulfilled other prerequisites determined by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Anyone testing positive will be quarantined.
The border, Zaman said, is also open for trade and for Iranian citizens wanting to return to their country, adding Iranian citizens who test negative can travel back home.
Pakistan completely closed its border with Iran on February 24, 2020 following an outbreak of the virus in the neighbouring country that month. However, the Taftan border was reopened in June last year, followed by the reopening of all five border crossing points for trade. The Iran-Pakistan border is around 1,000 kilometres long.
