ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Thursday strongly rejected the ongoing arms race inthe region, however said it was ready to thwart any threat to its stability.
“In case of any external threat, we and our forces are ready to give abefitting response,” Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Faisal said inresponse to a question on India’s recent $5 billion deal to purchase S-400missile system from Russia.
The Spokesman at a weekly press briefing here said the government had astated position on this issue and its manifesto clearly emphasizeddirecting resources to human and economic development.
He said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would represent the countryat the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) 17th Council of Head ofGovernment Meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on October 11-12.When asked about any chance of meeting between the foreign ministers ofPakistan and India during the SCO conclave, the Spokesman said Pakistanwould not again make a request for any such meeting.
He recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had formally sent a letter tohis Indian counterpart for the two foreign ministers’ meeting at the UNGeneral Assembly Forum and said that “Pakistan would not repeatedly makesuch requests”.He regretted that India was reluctant to hold talks with Pakistan and wasavoiding discussing several important issues.“On the other hand, Pakistan is not shying away from anything and is notrunning any secret policy,” he said.
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The Spokesman said new Attorney General would lead the case of Indian spyKulbhushan Jhadav at the public hearing by International Court of Justice(ICJ) on February 18-19, 2019.He termed as “sham” the local body elections in Indian held Kashmir andalso highlighted the continuous human rights violations in the valley.On Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),the Spokesman said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia held discussions on thematter, however details had not been worked out.
He clarified that both China and Pakistan were open to the third-partyinclusion in the project, however said that “the agreement was not beingreviewed”.
Whether Pakistan was going to play a mediatory role in Middle Eastconflict, the Spokesman said Pakistan was ready to play such role subjectto request by the parties, which so far, had not been made.- APP
