Pakistan seeks confirmation of Saudi sentence to Zaid Hamid
*FO says Nawaz, Modi likely to meet on SCO summit sidelines*Pak committed to good neighbourly relations with Afghanistan
INP

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan said on Thursday that Pakistan’s embassy in Riyadh has approached the Saudi authorities to confirm the sentence awarded to analyst Zaid Hamid in Saudi Arabia.

At his weekly briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said that Pakistan has also asked for consular access as well as the charges levelled against Zaid Hamid. The Saudi authorities have awarded eight years of jail term and 1000 lashes for speaking at a gathering in Medina.

The Foreign office said that there was possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Russia. However, he added that there had been no formal contact between the two sides regarding such a meeting. “Leaders on such multilateral fora do meet each other,” the spokesman remarked.

The spokesman reaffirmed Pakistan’s its commitment to good neighborly relations with Afghanistan for peace and stability in the region. He said that we will continue to support an Afghan led and Afghan owned peace and reconciliation process. He said a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in Pakistan's best interest. He added that non-interference in internal affairs of Afghanistan is the key pillar of Pakistan Afghan policy.

Khalilullah said that the two sides are constructively engaged to rebuild mutual trust and understanding. The spokesman said that Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are cooperating to counter terrorism, he added. The spokesman rejected Afghanistan's claim that a gate on the Pak-Afghan border is being constructed on the Afghan side.

The FO spokesman clarified that the gate was being constructed on the Pakistani side of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan. About the presence of Pakistan's permanent representative to United Nation Maleeha Lodhi in Islamabad, he said that she was in the federal capital for routine consultations. He said that Broad the range of issues of Pakistan's interests at the United Nations is being discussed in these consultations.

Khalilullah said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to represent Pakistan at the annual session of the UN General Assembly in September. To a question, he said that Pakistan has requested information about facts and contents of the BBC documentary from Britain. He added that we are still awaiting the response of Britain.

Discussing the killing of Pakistani citizen Waheed Noor Khan in India, the FO spokesman said that the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had approached the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for details of the incident. Khan and his remains were handed over to Pakistani authorities last week at Wagah border.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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