Page 13 - Pakistan Link - August 21, 2020
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PAKISTAN AUGUST 21, 2020 – PAKISTAN LINK – P13
Four-pronged Strategy Being Pursued Gen Bajwa, Saudi Deputy Defense
to Deal with India: FM Qureshi Minister Discuss Security Issues
n By Baqir Sajjad Syed tend. military preparedness, conflict res- Riyadh: Army chief
Islamabad: Foreign Minister Shah “This world is more uncertain, olution and confidence-building; General Qamar Ja-
Mehmood Qureshi explained the and not being distracted by India’s ved Bajwa arrived
government’s four-point strategy less predictable, and for these rea- actions and continuing with re- in Saudi Arabia on
over dealing with India on Monday sons, perhaps more dysfunctional.” gional integration projects through Monday, the Paki-
and emphasized that in a chang- participation in the China-Pakistan stan embassy in Ri-
ing world, there would have to be a While emphasizing that “the Economic Corridor, the Shanghai yadh said, amid a
greater reliance on national strength buffers and support systems of in- Cooperation Organization, and the diplomatic spat that
rather than looking towards interna- ternational organizations and inter- Economic Cooperation Organiza- has threatened Ri-
tional structures. national law” had not come up to tion. Efforts were being made for re- yadh’s financial life
expectations, Mr Qureshi said coun- vival of the South Asian Association line to the country.
Participating in a webinar on tries would have to depend on their of Regional Countries, the foreign
“Annexation of Occupied Jammu own strengths rather than looking minister added. Bajwa arrived in
and Kashmir: Lessons for Regional towards those structures. Riyadh at 10am, the
Security”, organized by Islamabad Dr Shireen Mazari, Minister for embassy said. The
Policy Institute (IPI), the foreign Explaining the government’s Human Rights, listed the areas in head of the Inter-
minister said there was a “new strategy on dealing with India’s ex- which she believed diplomacy was Services Intelligence
world, brave or grave, that is upon pansionist designs, he said a four- lacking. (ISI), General Faiz
us, and with which we have to con- pronged strategy was being pursued. Hameed, is accom-
It entailed confronting, exposing She had last week railed against panying Bajwa.
and pushing back against New Del- the Foreign Office over its handling
hi’s intentions; deterring it through of the Kashmir issue. Dr Mazari said The Saudi Chief
there was more focus on the politi- of General Staff Ma-
cal dynamics rather than looking at jor General Fayyad
it from a wider spectrum. She sug- bin Hammad Al-Ru-
gested the sufferings of women and waili received Bajwa,
children in India-held Kashmir be the Saudi ministry
highlighted aggressively. of defense said in a
statement on its website.
“We have not appealed enough
to women’s organizations on the “During their meeting, they discussed prospects of military coopera-
plight of Kashmiri women,” she tion and ways to boost it as well as other topics of common interest,” the
maintained. statement said.
Dr Mazari contended that In- Bajwa, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Discuss Security Issues: Chief of
dia was moving up the escalation the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa held talks with Saudi Deputy Minis-
ladder, committing actions in Kash- ter for Defence Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz on bilateral defence coop-
mir that amounted to genocide, and eration and regional security, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)
therefore the threat of war was get- on Tuesday.
ting more imminent. The impact of
a conflict, she warned, would not “Matters of mutual interest including bilateral defence and security co-
remain limited and affect others in operation and regional security were discussed,” the Pakistan military’s me-
the neighborhood as well because of dia wing further said.
“unintended consequences”.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the meeting was held on Monday.
Pakistan Cannot Accept Israel until The Saudi statement explained that besides the bilateral cooperation,
Palestine Gains Independence: PM talks were also held on enhancing cooperation for security and stability in
the region. Without elaborating, it said issues of “common concern” were
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran decisions according to its own for- The press release comes a day also discussed.
Khan has categorically rejected any eign policy and national interest. after Prime Minister Imran Khan Tweeting after the meeting, Prince Khalid, who is Crown Prince Mo-
possibility that Pakistan could es- “Our role is to unite the entire Mus- categorically said that Pakistan hammed bin Salman’s full younger brother, said: “Met today with my broth-
tablish relations with Israel after it lim world which is a very challeng- could not recognize Israel as a state er, HE General Qamar Bajwa, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff. We discussed
signed a historic deal with the Unit- ing task and we will do our best.” unless it gave freedom to Palestine. bilateral relations, military cooperation, and our common vision for preserv-
ed Arab Emirates (UAE) to normal- ing regional security.”
ize bilateral ties. While talking about his prime In a two-hour late-night inter- The two countries are traditionally close and Saudi Arabia in 2018 gave
aim to rid the country of corrup- view aired on Dunya TV, the prime Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of
“Our stance is very clear from tion, Prime Minister Imran has minister stated: “Quaid-i-Azam had payments crisis.
day one and Quaid-i-Azam Mu- reiterated that come what may he said in 1948 that Pakistan could not But Riyadh is irked by criticism from Pakistan that Saudi Arabia has
hammad Ali Jinnah had said Paki- will not spare corrupt cartels in the recognize Israel unless it gave free- been lukewarm on the Kashmir issue, two senior military officials had told
stan can never accept state of Is- country, affirming “fighting against dom to Palestinians. Reuters, motivating the army chief ’s planned visit.
rael until the people of Palestine get mafia is a mission of my life”. Last week, the military’s media affairs wing had confirmed that the
rights and state,” he said in an inter- “If we recognize Israel and ig- COAS was travelling, though the official line was that the visit was pre-
view with a private news channel on Responding to a question nore [the] tyranny faced by Pales- planned and “primarily military-affairs oriented”.
Tuesday. about his two years in the coun- tinians, we will have to give up [the Pakistan has long pressed the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Coun-
try’s top office, Premier Imran said cause of] Kashmir as well, and this tries (OIC) to convene a high-level meeting to highlight Indian violations in
The prime minister said ac- he had faced immense challenges we cannot do.” occupied Kashmir.
cepting the state of Israel is equiva- throughout his life but the two- But the OIC has only held low-level meetings so far.
lent to giving up Pakistan’s stance on year period as prime minister of the In the context of the United On August 5, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said: “I
Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu country was the toughest among all Arab Emirates, which has recently am once again respectfully telling the OIC that a meeting of the Council of
and Kashmir (IIOJK). “The case of of them. established ties with Israel, the Foreign Ministers is our expectation.
Palestinians is similar to the people prime minister said every state had “If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister
of Kashmir and their [Palestinians] ‘Palestinians its own foreign policy. Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand
rights have been snatched and they Consider Pakistan with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris.”
have been suffering Israeli atroci- In a statement the Palestine Qureshi said that Pakistan had skipped the Kuala Lumpur Summit last
ties.” Our Second embassy noted that the Pakistani December on Saudi Arabia’s request and now Pakistani Muslims were de-
Homeland’ government had always supported manding Riyadh “show leadership on the issue”.
Last week, Israel and the UAE their cause. “The embassy heartily “We have our own sensitivities. You have to realize this. Gulf countries
reached a historic deal that would Islamabad: The State of Palestine appreciates the stance of [PM Im- should understand this,” the foreign minister had said, adding that he could
lead to full normalization of dip- on Wednesday thanked the premier ran] when answering to a question no more indulge in diplomatic niceties.
lomatic relations between the two for his “strong response” on Israel, about Israel.” He had made it clear that he was not being emotional and fully un-
Middle Eastern nations in an agree- besides expressing gratitude to the derstood the implications of his statement. “It’s right, I’m taking a position
ment that US President Donald government for extending support It is only because of the love despite our good ties with Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Trump helped broker. to the Palestinian cause. of Pakistanis towards Palestine that The Foreign Office (FO) had later defended the minister’s remarks, say-
Israeli and Pakistani relations have ing his was a reflection of people’s aspirations and expectations from the OIC
Under the agreement, Israel A statement issued by the Pal- never been established, it added. to raise the Kashmir issue internationally.
has agreed to suspend applying sov- estine embassy in Islamabad also Speaking at a weekly press briefing, the FO spokesperson had said that
ereignty to areas of the West Bank thanked the government for con- “The embassy thanks the prime the people of Pakistan had more expectations from the OIC and would like it
that it has been discussing annex- demning Israeli aggression towards minister for such a strong response to play a leading role in raising the Kashmir issue internationally.
ing, senior White House officials Palestine. and also appreciates every indi- However, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz
told Reuters. vidual of Pakistan, including politi- Sharif had criticized Qureshi’s remarks, calling them “highly unfortunate
“Palestinians consider Pakistan cal parties, media, and civil society, and irresponsible”.
The premier set aside reports as our second homeland and Paki- who is observing solidarity with In a tweet, the PML-N president had said: “Qureshi’s statement about
that Islamabad’s relations with Ri- stanis as our dearest brothers, who Palestine in any possible way. brotherly Saudi Arabia is highly unfortunate & irresponsible. It flies in the
yadh had deteriorated recently say- always supported Palestine on every face of history of our special & trusted relationship with the kingdom.
ing “Saudi Arabia is Pakistan’s key forum of the world,” it said. “We are hopeful that this sup- “The cavalier attitude by this government is undermining Pakistan’s
ally”. port will be with us until we get an core relations with friendly countries!”
independent State of Palestine with
He said every country makes Jerusalem Al-Quds as its capital,”
the statement concluded.
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