(2015-07-09) [This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.] There are no opening remarks The floor is open for Questions Question You have been telling us that Governments of India and Pakistan are working on the meeting between the two Prime Ministers in Ufa. What is the latest position? Is the meeting now confirmed? If yes, what is the agenda that Pakistan is putting on the table tomorrow? (Shaukat Paracha- Aaj TV) Answer I can confirm that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a bilateral meeting in Ufa tomorrow. The meeting is taking place on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. The two leaders will discuss all issues of importance to both sides. Question What other meetings of the Prime Minister are scheduled in Ufa as there would be a number of other leaders also participating in the SCO Summit? Is it also confirmed that a decision has been made to give full membership of SCO to Pakistan? My last question is about the Taliban talks in Murree. As little information was shared with the media and most of the information was kept confidential, on what note did the talks end? (Mateen Haider - Dawn News) Answer Firstly, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will also have bilateral meetings with the Presidents of Russia, China and Afghanistan. As regards the full membership of SCO, we are hoping that our membership will be approved in principle. Subsequently, a number of formalities will need to be completed before full membership can be granted. Information about the talks Pakistan hosted was shared with media as soon as it became available. We also issued a detailed press release on the talks. Talks between the representatives of Afghan Government and Tehrek-e-Taliban Afghanistan were a breakthrough, as it was for the first time that both sides had held direct talks. Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry was the facilitator during the talks. The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and both sides agreed to meet again after Ramazan. Question It is now clear that ISIL is expanding its network and activities beyond the Middle East. You would have seen reports that ISIL is gaining ground in Afghanistan and they have formed some groups and are now in fight with Taliban. In such a situation, is there any specific preemptive strategy developed by Pakistan for that threat? Secondly, many of our citizens have been travelling to that region. Are there any security checks at airports and other entry/exit points for those travelling to that region. (Mudassir Hussain-Khyber News) Answer I would refer to the outfit as Daesh as there is nothing Islamic about it. Regarding security checks, Pakistan has alerted its security agencies to the threat posed by Daesh. Our authorities are vigilant and have been advised to take necessary action in this regard, if required. As a matter of policy, Pakistan does not allow its nationals to participate in conflicts outside of Pakistan as non-state actors. Question A new development has come about with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan delegation coming to Pakistan for talks. Can you tell us about the position of Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan as a political entity? How does Pakistan see this when Chinese and American representatives also attended the meeting? What is the legal status if we talk within international law? What is Pakistan's own perception on how peace can be achieved in Afghanistan given the prevailing situation in Afghanistan? (Faisal) Supplementary Question We had come to know from the Afghan side that their Deputy Foreign Minister was here and that Pakistan was facilitating the talks while representatives of China and US were also present. But we have not heard, so far, from the Taliban side. We also do not know the names of the participants in the talks. Do you have any information whether they enjoyed the backing of Mullah Omar led Taliban? If not, was it some other group of Taliban that is fighting in Afghanistan and was on the negotiating table? (Shabbir Ahmad - PTV World News) Answer Let me start with the second question first. We have mentioned in our press release that the representatives of both sides were mandated by their leadership. It does not require any further explanation. As to how we look at the peace process, you must appreciate that it is for the first time that direct talks were held between the representatives of Afghan Government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan. This is a breakthrough and both sides have agreed to have the next round after Ramzan. This indicates interest on both sides to continue the peace process. Both sides had exchanged views on ways and means to bring peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. You must have seen that there is a lot of support at the international level for the peace process and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. The White House, Chinese Foreign Ministry and UN Secretary General have welcomed the talks and appreciated Pakistan's role in hosting and facilitating them. Afghan Government has also issued a statement in this regard. The peace and reconciliation process is enjoying support because peace in Afghanistan is in the interest of everyone. Question It has been about a month that Pakistani Defence analyst Zaid Hamid has been under arrest in Saudi Arabia but nothing has been confirmed officially as to why he was arrested and what is the nature of his crime? Social media is running self-contradictory reports that perhaps he committed apostasy and some say he made some blasphemous statements. (Mohsin Raza Kazmi-Such TV) Answer I spoke about this during my last briefing. However, let me reiterate the efforts our Embassy in Riyadh has made in this regard. On 23rd June, the Embassy assisted wife of Mr. Zaid Hamid to have telephonic conversation with him. On 30th June, there was a meeting arranged by the Embassy between him and his wife. The Embassy has also officially requested Saudi authorities to provide information about the charges against him, consular access and confirmation of reports about the sentence given to him. Two days ago, our Consul General in Jeddah had a meeting with the Saudi Consular Office in Jeddah to reiterate our request. In other words, the Embassy has been following this issue. However, I do not wish to comment on various media reports relating to this matter. Question What is the status of the letter you have written to British authorities in connection with BBC report? Have they replied or not? Secondly, there have been rumors that RAW has set up a desk for conspiring against China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. What is your plan to deal with them? (Shahid Rana- ARY News) Answer Regarding your first question, response from the British authorities is still awaited. As to your second question, we have discussed the issue a number of times in the past. Our statements are available on the Ministry's Website. Question A few days back, the US Ambassador said that proxy war should be ended in South Asia. What does the Foreign Ministry think? Is there any proxy war in the region and who is doing it? What can the US do to end this war and what role you want it to play? Secondly, is there any discussion going on with Iran regarding signing of an extradition treaty? (Bashir Ahmad- FM 92) Answer Regarding your second question, I am not aware of the information that you have sought. I will find out. As far as proxy war is concerned, Pakistan is against it. We believe in peaceful resolution of disputes and issues. In our own case, we are following a policy of good neighbourly relations. We are committed to resolving all our disputes with our neighbors peacefully through talks. As far as your question about the US is concerned, Pakistan and the US enjoy very close, cooperative and friendly relations. We have Strategic Dialogue between the two countries and we discuss all issues, including issues of peace and security, when we talk to each other or when our diplomats interact with officials of the host government. Question I am glad to hear that Pakistan Embassy in Saudi Arabia is assisting in securing consular access to a self-styled defence analyst, a Pakistani national. There are some reports which I want to share with you about three Pakistanis who are in jail in Jeddah. They have completed their sentence but have not been released from jail. One of them is Mr. Shahid Afzal. Can you tell us how many Pakistanis are in jails in Saudi Arabia and how many are looking for their release from these jails? (Abid Khursheed- ATV) Answer I do not have the figure right now. You know that we have a community of around two million Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia. At any given time there are a number of Pakistanis who are detained for a variety of reasons. We have noted down the name given by you. I will make an effort through our Embassy to find out his status. Question You described the recently held talks between the Afghan Government and Afghan Taliban as a breakthrough. Can you please share what are the expectations of Pakistan's Government from the Afghan Government now to move forward in the reconciliation process as you said that Pakistan played its role as a facilitator in these talks?(Waqas Rafique-Capital TV) Answer Afghan government has issued a very detailed statement on the talks and in that they have appreciated Pakistan's role in facilitating the talks. They have reiterated their desire for peace in Afghanistan. You must have noted that the need for developing confidence building measures was also emphasized during talks, as mentioned in our press release. Let me reiterate that Pakistan is committed to supporting an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. We remain in touch with the government of Afghanistan and you can see that there is also a strong desire on their part as well to promote the peace process. It is evident from the participation of Afghan government delegation in the talks hosted by Pakistan. Question The press release on talks hosted by Pakistan clearly said that during the discussion, ways and means for establishing peace were discussed and you also mentioned about the confidence building measures. Can you explain which steps were discussed and whether ceasefire came up in the talks? (Kamran Haider-Bloomberg) Answer You know that our role was that of a facilitator. It was up to the two sides to discuss the measures they wanted to take. However, the participants exchanged views on ways to bring peace to Afghanistan and agreed that for lasting peace in the region, each side would approach the process in sincerity and with full commitment. Question I have two questions. You can take the first question for the next week. It is about a Pakistani national Mr. Umar Mubeen, who has been missing in Dubai for the last two years. Pakistan's Mission in Dubai has been helping in the investigation of this case. Can you please find out the latest situation? My second question is about the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Putin. Is there any economic or mega project expected to be finalized during this meeting? (Shahid-ur_Rehman, Kyodo) Answer We are interested in enhancing relations with Russia in all fields of mutual interest. Prime Minister's meeting with President Putin will provide a fresh impetus to the ongoing cooperation between the two countries. We are interested in Russian investment in various projects in Pakistan. However, I am not in a position to share details of bilateral projects being considered right now. Question My question is related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He met with the Chinese President and raised reservations about the economic corridor and also about sanctions against Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. Will Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif be talking to the Chinese President about India's discussion with China? My second question is that Afghanistan side has been reporting that Haqqani Network was also part of Taliban delegation in the recent talks held in Murree. Can you please confirm this?(Amber Shamsi- BBC) Answer As far as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is concerned, we have talked about this a number of times in the past. We have said that CPEC projects would benefit the entire region. As regards Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, you would recall that during the weekly briefing on June 25 2015, I had made a detailed statement about the measures Pakistan had taken in compliance with requirements of the UN Sanctions Committee. I do not have anything else to add to it. As regards your third question about participation of Haqqani network representative in the talks, I am not in a position to say anything about the composition of the delegations of the two sides. Question India has again violated the Line of Control (LoC). What is the response of Foreign Office on it? (Syed Musharraf Kazmi- Business Plus) Answer On 5th July, ISPR issued a press release on it and it is available on its website. I cannot add anything to it. Question Do you think that the meeting between the two Prime Ministers will de-escalate the recent tension between the two countries which had increased due to the provocative statements made by the Indian side against Pakistan? Relating to Afghan talks again, how many Taliban prisoners are in Pakistan's custody now? Was there any demand to release some of the Taliban leaders? Regarding participation level of China and the US, you said both participated as observers in the talks. Were they local diplomats or had they come specially from Washington and Beijing to attend these talks? (Mateen Haider- Dawn News) Answer Meeting between leaders is a positive development. Tomorrow's meeting between the two Prime Ministers is expected to have a positive impact on bilateral relations and regional and international levels. As you are aware, international community is also interested in improvement of relations between Pakistan and India as it would benefit not only the peoples of the two countries but also the whole region. Regarding your second question about Taliban prisoners, there is nothing specific in my knowledge at the moment that I could share with you. As regards your question about the participation level of China and the US in the talks, I have already said that, it is not possible for me to share information about the composition of the delegations that participated in the talks hosted by Pakistan. However, let me clarify that, as mentioned in the press release, the representatives of the US and China participated in the meeting. They were not observers.