Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. Courtesy Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Office spokesperson says onus on New Delhi to enable environment for dialogue
Condemning “malicious” Indian propaganda against the longstanding Pakistan-China friendship, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri termed it part and parcel of Delhi’s “incurable obsession” with Islamabad.
“Pakistan and China have been joined together in a broad-based, long-term all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. Our cooperation is an anchor for regional peace and stability. We have always stood by each other through difficult times and have supported each other on core national issues,” the spokesperson told a weekly press briefing.
“This propaganda is a manifestation of the Indian government’s incurable obsession with Pakistan and its desperate attempts to mislead the world community. The world community is aware that the political opportunism of the RSS-BJP regime is imperiling peace, stability and security of the region,” he said, adding that Delhi should abstain from belligerent rhetoric against Pakistan and focus on correcting internal policies that were endangering regional peace.
Bilateral talks
To a question on India reportedly seeking a resumption of bilateral dialogue with Pakistan, Chaudhri said it was Delhi’s responsibility to create an enabling environment for talks. To achieve this, he said, India would have to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, end its persecution of the Kashmiri people, and agree to resolve the longstanding dispute in accordance with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“It is India that has vitiated the atmosphere with its illegal and unilateral actions of Aug. 5, 2019 in IIOJK [Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir] and with continuous belligerent rhetoric. We have been consistently saying that India is trying to change the demographic structure of IIOJK in violation of international law, U.N. charter, the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, 4th Geneva Convention and humanitarian norms,” he said.
The spokesman also slammed India’s attempt to change the demography of Kashmir by changing its domicile laws and vowed that Pakistan would continue to highlight its human rights abuses in the region.
On any progress in the reported murders of 11 Pakistani Hindu citizens in India, which has prompted protests in Pakistan, the spokesman said Islamabad had informed Indian authorities to ensure justice and the safety and security of other Pakistani nationals in India. “It has also been emphasized that since the victims of ‘Jodhpur Incident’ were Pakistani nationals, it was incumbent upon the Government of Pakistan to be fully aware of the circumstances under which its nationals died in India. The Indian side has been urged to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter, provide access to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to the surviving member of the bereaved family, share copies of the FIR and the initial investigation report and facilitate the presence of the High Commission for Pakistan’s representatives during the postmortem of the deceased persons without further delay,” he added.
FATF
To another question on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is set to decide later this month whether Pakistan will be whitelisted, Chaudhri said Pakistan had been implementing the FATF Action Plan since 2018 and it had made significant progress. “The FATF has also acknowledged Pakistan’s political commitment and the progress made by us in a number of areas in the action plan. We are committed to and moving towards completion of the action plan. We remain engaged with the process,” he said.