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Islamabad, June 14, 2012 (PPI-OT): Opening Remarks
Bismillah -e- Rehman Rahim
Aslam o Alaikum,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To begin with a couple of announcements: talks on Sir Creek would take place on 18th and 19th June 2012 in New Delhi. Let me also inform you that the Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan would take place in July. We don’t have the exact dates for you at the moment. And this would be followed by Foreign Minister’s review talks which will also take place in July but in Pakistan.
Question and Answers
Question: The question is about the US officials who have applied for Pakistani visas in Embassy in Washington and they are saying that we are not being provided the visas, would you please tell us the reasons behind and situation about how many applications are pending at the moment?
Ans: As to how many applications are pending at the moment in the Embassy, I will have to check and get back to you on that. However, there is a process that is involved when requests for visas are made. All the requests go through that process which takes some time, and this is with the understanding of both sides that we are working on this arrangement. However, I am not aware of any particular issue here but it is part of a general process which takes time.
Question: Yesterday the Foreign Minister Khar said that Pakistan is not in a price-scorching debate about the NATO supplies. Later on in a day Defence Security Committee in a testimony to Congress also said that the issue is beyond the price. Does that mean that the issue of price has been resolved because in less than 48 hours two very high-fi authorities have stated about at, so what is holding that up. Is it the apology or what?
Ans: Well there are several issues, as we have been saying right from day one, we are trying to resolve in the light of parliamentary guidelines. These include the issue of NATO supply lines, the issue of drone attacks and the issue of apology. So, yes, there are issues and the two sides are engaging with each other in order to resolve these issues.
But let me underline the importance the two countries attach to this relationship. It is an important relationship, it is a critical relationship as far as peace and stability in this region is concerned, and there is a mutual desire on the part of both sides to resolve these issues in a mutually acceptable manner. The Foreign Minister has also said that this is not only a pricing issue that we are trying to deal with.
Question: My question is about the Haqani Network. As being clearly seen that the US wants Pakistan to launch a military operation against Haqani group in the North Wazirstan or at least convince them through negotiations to stop attacking US forces and NATO forces in wazirstan. What is the official stance of Pakistani government on that. Is government thinking of launching a military operation in North Waziristan? And my section question is about the NATO supply lines we have asked for a very high figure of about 5,000 Dollars, even if it is not confirmed but we have asked for a high figure. Is it because coalition support fund by the US is going to be stopped after they make a final payment of one billion Dollars?
Ans: Regarding the Haqani Network, we have issued a press release on that and on the issue of safe heavens in Pakistan. We have repeatedly said that Pakistan is fighting terrorism and extremism in its own national interest. We have also repeatedly said that we would not allow any sanctuary or safe heaven on our territory, and we will not allow our territory to be used against any country. However we also expect that other countries will also not allow their territory to be used against Pakistan. We also need to understand that these are very complex issues and they need to be seen in the larger context of peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as the border region.
Regarding the figures that you see, lots of figures are floating around, I think it would not be appropriate for me to get into specifics at this moment. We are not really in the business of determining as to at what price we will be able to open the supply routes, but there are other bigger issues that we are trying to resolve before we reach some understanding and consensus on the NATO supply routes.
Question: The US Ambassador yesterday said in a statement that the US technical teams will be here to negotiate with the Pakistani teams on certain issues and a lot of work has been done by these teams and now the political decision will be awaited by Pakistan. My question is that is it a political decision in real terms which is being awaited or a military decision?
Ans: It’s a political decision.
Question: Two brief questions, first is that whatever has been said in the context of Pak-US relations, in the same time the leaders from the two countries give an impression of optimism and the importance they give to this relationship but it is amazing to know that there is a stalemate even after more than six months, what exactly is hindering this important relationship to be back on track.
You have talked about certain issues. Why these issues are not being resolved after the lapse of 6-7 months. My second question is Siachen talks have been held in Pakistan and now Sir Creek talks are being held in New Delhi. There is a pessimism about these issues. Do you see any ray of hope that these issues will be resolved and if yes what is the basis of your optimism?
Ans: Regarding the first question, as said earlier, the issues we are trying to deal with are difficult ones, and we must understand that particularly after the Salalah incident, this relationship really went through a huge dip. Now both sides are trying to resolve the issues and bring the relationship back on track, and at the end of the day, it is in the mutual interest of both countries as this is an important relationship.
Regarding the Defence Secretaries’ meeting on Siachen, again, I would say it is a difficult issue and needs an early resolution. The leadership on both sides has underscored the importance of resolving all the issues in a result oriented manner. These are difficult issues, but the positive thing is that we continue to talk about them, and that there is a desire on the part of both the sides to have an early resolution of these issues.
Question: The British and the Danish Foreign Ministers visited Pakistan and talked about the general elections and said that they are looking forward to this election. There is also an election in the United States in November. In the recent talks which have been held between United States and Pakistan in the last six months. Will you say something about the impact that the US election will have on the talks between Pakistan and US?
Ans: We always say that the foreign policy a country is an extension of its domestic policy. You obviously cannot really ignore what is happening internally. I think beyond that, it is not really for me to comment on the political developments here as well as there; what we really need to understand is that yes there is a common desire for resolution of these issue because the relationship is critical for peace and stability in the region, and this is what we need to stress on and be focused on.
Question: There is a report in today’s newspaper that the Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has disclosed that regarding these supplies of NATO, fees have been settled with the United States. He said everything will be announced in a couple of days. So my question is that is Foreign Office on board about all the decisions or the Finance Ministry and its committees are separately dealing this issue?
Ans: To be honest, I have not seen the report quoting the Finance Minister. I will leave this issue for the Finance Ministry to respond. As far as I know, all the issues are on the table, and efforts are being made to resolve them.
Question: If NATO supply is resolved what will be decided about the weapons supply and arms ammunition to the NATO forces?
Ans: Parliamentary guidelines are very clear in this regard, and whatever would be decided, it will be in accordance with the Parliamentary recommendations. Thank you.
For more information, contact:
Syed Haider Ali Jafri
Personal Secretary
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tel: +9251 921 0335 and 9056604