ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday terrorists, who carried out attacks in Zhob recently, had been identified.
A spokeswoman said those who were involved in the Zhob terror attack were Afghan nationals, and Pakistan’s concern in that regard had been conveyed to the Afghan authorities.
Separately, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said in a TV interview the use of biometrics by Pakistan had enhanced its capability to identify Afghan citizens, who enter Pakistan. That was how Afghan terrorists were identified, she disclosed.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the Embassy of Afghanistan and with the Afghan authorities. We have shared with them the discovery that we have made with regard to the identity of terrorists who were involved in attack in the Zhob garrison in Balochistan. We have reiterated on several occasions that the Afghan soil should not be used to foment terrorism against Pakistan,” added said the spokeswoman.
“Pakistan is ready to support Afghanistan in developing its capacity to fight terrorism,” she said. Pakistan has reiterated time and again that it is a responsibility of the interim government in Afghanistan to ensure that terrorism did not emanate from there to target the people of Pakistan.
Pakistan is still apprehensive about the security of its cricket team which will participate in the Cricket World Cup in India, she said.
To a query, she said: “We are in the process of conveying our concerns about security (to India). At this point, these concerns are being conveyed through our cricket authorities. We will continue to monitor the situation and would determine if some other channels of communication are also in order. You may have seen our press release that clearly articulates that the core of our concerns remains to be related matters.”
She blamed India for politicising sports, which was demonstrated recently by their decision not to participate in the Asia Cup, hosted by Pakistan or their decision not to issue visas to the blind cricket team of Pakistan.
“As far as cricket and sports are concerned, Pakistan has a consistent position that sports and cricket should not be politicised. Our decision to participate in the International Cricket World Cup is in the context of an international cricket tournament, that is being hosted by India, and not for a bilateral cricket series with India,” she pointed out.
To queries about foreign visits by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, the spokeswoman said in total he had made 36 visits. “I can confirm that the foreign minister, when travels abroad, pays for his own expenses unless he is being hosted by the local government.
“We can share with you subsequently the exact number of visits that he has undertaken to the UAE, KSA and the United States. But please note that some of these visits were in the context of multilateral conferences like the UNGA and other UN related activities. Similarly, he has been part of the entourage of the prime minister in some of these visits, including to Saudi Arabia,” she added.
“There has been an effort to expand our diplomatic footprint, retake our space in the global discourse on important issues and reassert Pakistan’s presence at the multilateral stage. We have also focused on enhancing our partnerships and dialogue with all partners through high-level engagements and regular bilateral political consultations which allowed institutionalisation of relationships,” she noted.
Focus has also been on projecting the Kashmir cause as the core of our diplomacy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has spearheaded the campaign to project the Kashmir cause at the international level. Pakistan was extensively involved in raising global awareness to the catastrophic floods that took place last year, in coordinating international response and in organising the international conference on climate resilient the country held in Geneva.
“One of our major successes last year was Pakistan’s exit from the FATF grey list and establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP 27.
“Pakistan also took a leadership position on issues pertaining to the Islamic world, including Islamophobia and on women empowerment in Islam. It also led efforts for cooperation between developing countries on sustainable development and on a range of other issues that are important for the developing countries including climate change,” she said.
