“I reaffirm what we have said in the past that Pakistan has not sold weapons to Ukraine or to Russia as we have adopted a policy of strict neutrality in this conflict,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in her weekly press briefing.
Asked to comment on a media report that Pakistani weapons were being used in the Ukraine battlefield, she said, “We are not in a position to confirm what weaponry is being used by the parties in the conflict.”
She said that Pakistan’s exports of weaponry to countries were accompanied by end-user certificates and “we expect the parties which import Pakistani weapons to respect those end-user commitments.”
To a question whether such media reports were aimed at targeting Pakistan for its position on Palestine, the spokesperson said Pakistan, like most of the international community, had condemned the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.
“We believe that drawing comparisons to the ongoing situation in Gaza with any other conflict is not warranted,” she remarked.
She said what was happening in the Middle East and the carnage in Gaza was a crime and injustice requiring international attention and people with conscience around the world had also spoken against this carnage.
The spokesperson also rejected the reports that Russia had asked Pakistan to hand back its defence equipment in use.
She apprised the media that the 10th meeting of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group to counter international terrorism and other security challenges was being held here on Thursday.
In the meeting, the two sides would share respective assessments of the threat of terrorism at regional and global levels besides focusing on Pakistan-Russia counter-terrorism cooperation.
Commenting on the statement by former UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador as “rooted in a misunderstanding”, she said Pakistan’s ongoing policy of repatriation of individuals living there in violation of immigration laws, did not pertain to refugees.
“Pakistan believes that it is our sovereign right to implement our immigration laws under which individuals who are staying here illegally can be deported, as is the case in any country in the world. So, we do not need to provide an explanation to countries which have their own immigration laws and that they implement as per their sovereign right.”
On the statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, she assured that Pakistan’s repatriation of illegal foreigners would take place in a humane manner as instructions had been sent throughout the law enforcement agencies.
“These are 24/7 helplines and any individual whether he’s himself a victim, or if they have witnessed a case of harassment are welcome to report such incidents on these helplines and action will be taken in all such cases,” she explained.
To a question, she said Pakistan and Afghanistan remained engaged through various channels to discuss issues of concern through embassies as prime channels of communication.
She expressed the hope that any positive reports of action against TTP by the Afghan interim government would beget concrete results in form of an end to terrorist incidents being perpetrated by TTP elements with hideouts in Afghanistan.
She said Pakistan had shared evidence with Afghan authorities of TTP hideouts and wanted them to hold the perpetrators and abettors of terrorist incidents to account.
To a query, she told the reporters that Pakistan would continue to facilitate transit trade and bilateral trade with Afghanistan.
“However, we have concerns about the misuse of transit trade facilities and in that respect, Pakistan has introduced a negative list of products which were luxury items.
With regards to Gaza, she said the international community’s voice was becoming increasingly louder against the Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine.
She told the media that Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar led the Pakistan delegation at the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit held on November 11, 2023 in Riyadh.
She said the summit had come up with a “comprehensive document” condemning the atrocities in occupied Palestine and also gave a roadmap on how the international community must move forward in ending these atrocities and bringing an end to Israeli occupation.
“We hope that other international organizations and groupings show similar resolve with respect to this barbarity that is going on in occupied Palestine,” she remarked.
She also mentioned the prime minister’s meetings with Arab and Islamic leaders participating in the conference including the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah; the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman; Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan condemned repeated Israeli attacks on the premises and personnel of UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies, including the headquarters of Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza.
“We are appalled by Israeli incursion into Al-Shifa hospital, placing patients, medical staff and civilians at risk. We join the international community to hold Israeli occupation accountable for its attacks against hospitals.”
Coming to the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesperson said the Indian occupation forces were acting with impunity in suppressing the people of IIOJK and were using counterterrorism laws to suppress the people of IIOJK and are engaged in extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances.
“This week, the Indian authorities again seized several properties in Pulwama district of IIOJK, invoking a counter-terrorism law. The seizure of properties is a cruel means of crushing dissent and persecuting human rights defenders,” she said.
The spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan would continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.
Referring to other diplomatic engagements, she mentioned the visit of Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Dr Jamshid Khodjaev Abdukhakomovich and Acting Afghan Minister for Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi to attend the first Pakistan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Trilateral Meeting wherein they discussed the promotion of trade relations by addressing barriers, streamlining customs procedures, and facilitating cross-border and transit trade.
The spokesperson said Pakistan’s re-election to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the term 2023-2027 was a testament to its longstanding support for and its constructive role at the United Nations.