(2016-05-19) Opening Remarks Assalaam Alaikum Distinguished Friends! You may have followed this week's events. Under Pakistan's Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, a plenary meeting was held in Geneva on 17 May. Detailed statement made by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs was released to the media. 8th Round of Pakistan-US Talks on Security, Strategic Stability and Non-proliferation issues was also held at Foreign Office on 17 May. The highlights of the meeting, inter alia, were United States' recognition of Pakistan's significant efforts to harmonize its strategic trade controls with those of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), and USA's expression of interest in exploring cooperation in nuclear science when Pakistani side sought cooperation in areas such as Health, Agriculture & Water. 5th Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) meeting on Afghan Peace and Reconciliation Process was hosted by Pakistan yesterday, in which all the four member countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US, participated. The outcome Joint Press Release was also issued. Pakistan and China will be celebrating 65 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations during this month. A number of activities have been scheduled to be held spreading over months to mark the occasion in a befitting manner. Pakistan's Buddhist relics will be exhibited in Sri Lank starting this month on the occasion of Buddhist celebration of their Vesakh Festival. Pakistan being a cradle of ancient civilizations, has treasure of Buddhist relics belonging to Gandhara Civilization. The Ministry had last month held a three day Ancient Pakistan event to highlight the heritage of these civilizations. Now the Floor is open for Questions Question This is regarding various statements coming from Afghanistan- what is Afghanistan's reaction to the latest QCG meeting? My second question relates to Indian missile test- it test-fired supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile, from a test range off Odisha coast. Your comments in light of the regional balance of power? (Essa Naqvi - Dunya TV) Answer QCG is aimed at facilitating direct negotiations between Afghan Government and the factions at war in Afghanistan, including Taliban. Under QCG arrangement, all the members have shared responsibility to bring Taliban and the other groups to the negotiation table. The members are making sincere efforts to that end. We are dealing with a turmoil that is 36 years old with 15 years of military efforts by the world's powerful countries. These countries are still endeavouring for peace and stability in Afghanistan. In just 6 months, since its inception, member countries expressed their opinion in yesterday's meeting that we should give peace a chance as it remains the only option to move forward. Regarding the second part of your question, our position has been publically articulated by the Adviser. Pakistan has serious concerns over India's interceptor missile test and will take all necessary measures to augment its defence capabilities. Indian actions are against the spirit of a peaceful and friendly neighborhood and would upset the balance of power in the region. We have sensitized the US during the 8th Round of Working Group on Security, Strategic Stability and Non-proliferation and Members of Conference on Disarmament in Geneva about Pakistan's concerns about India's ambitious missile program. Question BJP government is cleaning up all terrorist acts committed by Hindu terrorists and extremists linked to RSS. Ishrat Jehan case, Col. Purohit's exoneration from Samjhauta Express terrorist attack and clean chit to Sadhvi Pragyain in Malegaon Blast case, are some examples. One can foresee what BJP may be up to. What steps Pakistan intends to take? (Shibba Mahar - Daily SAMAA) Answer It appears that the Indian government is trying to exonerate individuals, who many in India itself believe were involved in Samjhauta Express terrorist attack, resulting in the loss of lives of more than 42 innocent Pakistanis. During his visit to India last month, the Foreign Secretary conveyed Pakistan's concern to his Indian counterpart and urged the Indian government for fair investigation and trial of the terrorist attack. It is only through fair, timely and judicious administration of justice that any society can sustain itself as a respected member of global community. Question My question is related to blockage of aid of F-16s to Pakistan. Experts say that the strong Indian lobby is responsible for this. Why does Pakistan not have such a lobby in Washington DC? It is said that quarterly India spends 1.7 lac dollars on such lobbies. If lobbies are so important why does Pakistan not have such lobbies? (Waqas Ahmad - Capital TV) Answer I would draw your attention to numerous statements by the Pentagon, State Department and White House officials, which shows that this issue is still being debated. There were two stages in this process, the first stage was approval by Congress to sell F-16 to Pakistan and the sale was approved by an overwhelming majority in Congress. The second stage was about financial arrangements and this discussion is still going on within the US. I think that you would have to see this in light of the Pakistan-US bilateral relationship which is much larger and broader than the F-16 issue. I would also draw your attention to a Pentagon official's statement yesterday and that of State Department Spokesperson John Kirby a few days ago. These statements reiterated the convergence of interests between Pakistan and the United States on fighting terrorism. We need to wait and see the outcome of the F-16 issue. Our efforts remain on. Question It is difficult to understand India, is it playing a double game. On one hand, Mr. Modi springs up surprises to make International Community see India making overtures towards Pakistan. On the other hand, India has taken series of steps to cause setbacks to Pakistan regarding listing, regarding the bilateral dialogue, regarding the NSG process. Pakistan seems to be flattered by Mr. Modi's gimmicks. Your comments please. (Shaukat Paracha - Aaj TV) Answer I understand your question. Normalization of relations between Pakistan and India would require sincere efforts, good faith and commitment from both the countries. We have already conveyed that the dialogue process will not be a concession from one side to the other but a modest modus vivendi in inter-state relations. Question A bill has been passed in the US Congress on 9/11 issue as a result of which tensions seems to be developing between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Comments please (Khawaja Nayar Iqbal - Kashmir Post) Answer I have seen some reports on this issue but the countries in question are sovereign and have a long-standing relationship with each other. We don't comment on bilateral relations between two sovereign countries. Question India has approached Interpol to get Masood Azhar. India has issued Red Warrant (Red corner notice) in this regard. Your comments. (Iram Abbasi - BCC) Answer This subject is dealt with by the Ministry of Interior. You may like to check with them. Question In the press release issued after the Pakistan-US strategic dialogue day before yesterday, it was indicated that Pakistan was ready to sign the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime). My question is would the signing of MTCR not be detrimental to Pakistan's interests as it would not be able to make missiles to defend itself? What will be the benefit to Pakistan and what will be the effects on Pakistan if Pakistan signs MTCR? There was a question just now regarding India testing a supersonic missile and you said that Pakistan would take measures to respond to this test. In that context I am asking what will be the advantage to Pakistan in such an environment? (Shahid-Ur-Rehman-Kyodo News) Answer This is a technical question and I may respond to it later. I would just like to say that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear power and a vital part of the international disarmament dialogue. Pakistan has the credentials to be the Member as also mentioned in Pak-US Joint Statement issued yesterday. We want all such regimes to have a non-discriminatory criteria-based approach for non-NPT countries. Question This is regarding the QCG meeting yesterday, the Afghan representation was at a very low level that is only their Ambassador became part of the talks. Their statement also said that they blamed the Haqqani Network and Pakistan's reluctance to act against them. Pakistan's response is that they had rooted out all terrorists from North Waziristan and the Shawal Valley. Why do they keep on accusing us despite our successes in North Waziristan? They put all responsibility on Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. If these issues are not resolved, can they affect CPEC? (Tahir Rathore - 24 News) Answer Regarding CPEC, it is an economic and a connectivity project, linking through Pakistan China's western province with the Arabian Sea and beyond. It relates to socio-economic uplift and economic development. We realize that there are security challenges to CPEC, and Pakistan is fully capable of ensuring the continuity and completion of this project and has taken all necessary security measures to ensure the safety of the project and personnel working on it. Regarding your first question, Pakistan has undertaken non-discriminatory military action in North Waziristan and Pakistan's sincerity cannot be doubted in this regard. Doubting Pakistan's intention is not only wrong, but it also strengthens those elements that do not want to see peace in Afghanistan. You would have seen the joint statement after the fifth round of QCG yesterday. It reflects the position of all the four countries that participated in the meeting. This was a consensus press release. The main message of the joint statement was that we will have to give peace a chance through negotiations because there was no option better than peace. Suffice to say that the military option has been tried for 15 years and the situation is before us. Pakistan is making sincere efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and it is a position of QCG that this is a joint responsibility of all QCG members. Both the QCG and Heart of Asia processes are aimed towards peace in Afghanistan. I would also like to reiterate that peace in Afghanistan is vital for Pakistan. Question It has been reported that India had made a request for an NIA team to visit Pakistan regarding Pathankot investigations. If India has made such a request, has it mentioned the individuals that it needs access to? (Majid Jaral - News One) Answer I don't have any such information. You may like to contact Ministry of Interior in this regard. Question Yesterday, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan said that the India is ready for peace talks with Pakistan and we have said that we are ready for the peace talks with India. If that is the case, why are Secretary level talks not taking place? (Daud Khan ' Mashraq TV) Answer I have seen the statement by the Indian High Commissioner. I have also said earlier that Pakistan is ready when India is ready for the dialogue. So far there are no proposed dates. Both sides contact each other at various levels. Once there are indications for an agreed date, we will let you know. Question Afghan government has finalized a peace deal with a militant group Hizb-e-Islami, while Taliban have rejected the talks. How does Pakistan see this development? My second question pertains to a statement by the Afghan Ambassador Dr. Omer Zakhiwal in which he said that despite best effort misunderstandings between the two countries cannot be removed. What is Pakistan's take on this statement? (Shahnawaz Muhal- paksitan Today) Answer Pakistan welcomes any and every effort, which brings the militant groups to the negotiation table. In context of the statement of the Afghan Ambassador, I would say that both sides realize that our relationship is rooted in history, bound by similarity of cultures and religious affinity. Peace and stability is in both countries' interest and is intrinsically linked. Differences would only serve the interest of the adversaries who do not want to see peace in Afghanistan. Question Arrest of Indian Naval Officer working for RAW has exposed India but Pakistan has not been able to mobilize international opinion against India as a state sponsoring terrorism. Whereas, India which has no proof against Pakistan has been able to make the world see Pakistan through the prism of terrorism. Are we lacking in our efforts or it is the West which is not willing to listen anything against India due to their vested interest? (Amjad Ali -PTV) Answer I do not agree with your assessment. The apprehension of serving officer of Indian Intelligence Agency RAW has vindicated Pakistan's long-standing position that Indian Intelligence agencies are involved in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan. We have conveyed our concerns bilaterally to the Indian side as well as through the international community. Such acts undermine efforts to normalize relations between the two countries. As the investigation continues and more evidence becomes available, we will continue to update the international community. Question Few days back, NAB arrested an officer of Foreign Office, whether you are starting any accountability system or campaign for the rest of the officers so that such incidents can be prevented in the future? Secondly, there is a bill against Saudi Arabia in US Congress in which there is a discussion going on to declare Saudi Arabia a terrorist state. Where will be Pakistan standing in any such case? (Anwer Abbas-Waqat TV) Answer As far US-Saudi Arabia relations are concerned, I have already responded that both are sovereign states and they have their independent relationship. We don't comment on the bilateral relations of two countries. As far your first question regarding accountability, we have issued a press release on this. We have very clearly mentioned that we ourselves sent a reference to NAB about this case. We are extending full cooperation to NAB in this case which is itself an indication to all such people. It is not suitable to pass judgments. In my opinion, when people join the service they are quite mature. They pass through a system and training. They have their schooling and also training at home. I don't think any reforms are needed. It is the mindset. As an institution, message of our Ministry is very clear that there will be no tolerance for anyone indulging in such activities and we will uphold the law and legal process. Question Firstly, can you confirm that whether yesterday in the QCG meeting US Ambassador again asked Pakistan to take action against Haqqani Network and what was Pakistan's response? Secondly, Khawaja Asif Defence Minister said in the Parliament that if US does not cooperate with us on the matter F-16 then we will contact other countries in this regard. Whether Pakistan has contacted any country? (Fida Hussain - Radio News Network) Answer As far your first question is concern, I would draw your attention towards the statement issued by the White House. If you go through this statement you will get your answer. As to your second question regarding F-16s, I reiterate that Pakistan-US relations should not be judged only on the basis of F-16's deal. The F-16s are a commercial commodity and their value is known to all. US was giving F-16s to Pakistan because it wanted to enhance the precision strike capability of Pakistan. Basically, they knew that Pakistan is using F-16s for strikes against the terrorists. I have already responded to this question in detail. This issue is still under discussion and we need to wait and see while we continue with our efforts. Question Notwithstanding the statement which was issued after the QCG meeting, what is the Pakistan's take about the seriousness of Afghan Government with regard to having the peace talks with the Afghan Taliban? Do you think that QCG after fifth round had some relevancy now or is it evaporating? (Fakhar-ur-Rehman - Turkish News Agency) Answer I think, I have already responded to this question in detail. QCG is aimed at facilitating direct negotiations between Afghan Government and the factions at war in Afghanistan, including Taliban. What you are saying about Afghan seriousness? It is an Afghan issue. We have said this thing time and again that all the members of the QCG want to see this as Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process. The other three members are just facilitators. They are just helping to bring warring factions or militants groups to the negotiation table. As to the effectiveness of QCG, we are dealing with a turmoil that is 36 years old with 15 years of military efforts by the world's powerful countries. These countries are still endeavouring for peace and stability in Afghanistan. In just 6 months since its inception, the member countries expressed their opinion in yesterday's meeting that we should give peace a chance as it remains the only option to move forward. Question Pakistan has been doing all its efforts for peace in Afghanistan but in the last meeting by sending their Ambassador, Afghanistan has sent a clear signal that it do not give importance to the efforts of Pakistan. Secondly, there have been direct contacts between the Hikmatyar and Afghan Government, why Pakistan was not made part of it? (Rana Moazim - Jahan Pakistan) Answer First of all, it is your own judgment but the Ambassador is the number one citizen in any country. It is the prerogative of the participating country to nominate who represents it. What you are saying is your understanding and not ours. Moreover, it is an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. QCG countries have not said that they cannot contact different groups on their own. All of this is being done for Afghanistan and if Afghanistan is engaging different groups over there then it is a good thing. Pakistan welcomes any and every effort, which brings peace and stability in Afghanistan.