News
Friday, June 18, 2010
Meaningful dialogue will bridge Pak-India trust deficit: FO* FO spokesman Abdul Basit says CSF reimbursements expected soon
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan expressed hope on Thursday that sustained and meaningful engagement between Pakistan and India would help bridge the trust deficit.
“As far as Pakistan is concerned, we are approaching the upcoming bilateral meetings with a positive mindset and we hope that these lead to results which are in our mutual interest, and yield long-term benefits to people on both sides of the border,” said Abdul Basit, the Foreign Office (FO) spokesman, while addressing a weekly briefing at the FO.
Referring to the inter-ministerial meeting under the chair of the foreign minister, he said that the meeting would formulate recommendations for the leadership, after consultations with all the stakeholders, “we are now in the process of formulating and submitting our recommendations to the prime minister”.
“Pakistan has always been promoting the cause of peace and stability in South Asia. We are keenly looking forward to our engagement with India with a view to promoting this cause,” he said.
He said that Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna would visit Pakistan on July 15.
When asked if the issue of Indian involvement in Balochistan would be discussed in the meetings with New Delhi, he said that Islamabad had been making a point with regard to this particular issue.
“We hope that when the two sides get together and resume the engagement process, this, and other issues, would come up for discussion,” he said.
Avoiding comment on the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting next week, he said the Pak-China civil nuclear cooperation complies with the relevant International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Concerns in this regard are misplaced, he added.
Replying to a query, he said that there have been delays in the payment of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to Pakistan but some of the dues have been paid and some will be paid by the end of this month.
“We expect that all CSF payments will be made well in time so that our counter-terrorism efforts do not suffer a set-back. We hope that a stage will not come where we would be obliged to withdraw our forces because of this reason. I must also add here that we are not fighting against terrorism at the behest of others. It is also our own struggle. However, we do need international support and understanding,” he said.
He said that what the government recollects is that a good part of the due amount for 2008 and 2009 has been reimbursed to Pakistan.
“The remaining US$ 600 –700 million would hopefully be released soon. I shall check the exact status, and will let you know,” he said.
Declaring the report of the London School of Economics as “pure fiction”, he said that it did not even meet the basic standards of research. It is, therefore, not worth giving any attention to, he added.
He said that all Pakistani nationals in and around the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, have been evacuated. He said that his office was in touch with the Pakistani embassy in Bishkek, adding that the situation in Bishkek is normal. “The Manas Airport is functional and commercial flights are operating, so the question of evacuation from Bishkek does not arise. If any Pakistani national wants to leave Bishkek, he or she can do that by a commercial flight. There are 804 Pakistan nationals in Bishkek and in the surrounding areas,” he said.
Over the murder of a Pakistani national in the United Arab Emirates, he said that we have already given instructions to our missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to extend all possible help in the matter.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk