ISLAMABAD: National Security Committee of the Parliament has summoned
the record of agreements signed with US and Nato for ongoing review of
Pakistan’s relations with the superpower and the alliance under it.
Answering
a question, the Foreign Office Spokesperson, Abdul Basit in his weekly
briefing said that the Committee, which is seized with the matter of
review in the backdrop of 26/11 Nato attack, has asked for records from
Ministry of Defense. “That I believe the MoD has already submitted or
was in process of doing so,” he added. He also mentioned earlier
submission of the Foreign Ministry’s recommendation.
Asked about
the possibilities of early restoration of the Nato supplies as the US
was up to, he said, it depends on the decision of the Committee. He was
referring to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security under
Senator Mian Raza Rabbani which is reviewing Pakistan’s engagements with
US and Nato.
The spokesperson was of the view that the ongoing
review was “not to rack Pakistan’s relations with rest of the world. But
it was aimed at streamlining our relations with US and dealing with the
sensitive and complex issue therein,” he maintained.
Asked to
comment on US Vice President Joe Bidden’s statement declaring Afghan
Taliban as non-enemy, the spokesperson said, “It was an important
statement. It was not for me to comment on that and it would also be
premature.”
Asked about the official stance of Pakistan
regarding the Afghan Taliban, he said, “It was not for Pakistan to have a
stance on them (Afghan Taliban) but it was the prerogative of Afghan
people and government to do so.”
According to the Spokesperson,
Pakistan has repeatedly said in unequivocal terms that only genuine
reconciliation and peace efforts and that too Afghan led could succeed.
He reiterated that Pakistan wants relations with rest of the
world on mutual respect and interest basis. The Spokesperson said that
Pakistan wants to further deepen relations with Afghanistan independent
of our ties with rest of the world.
He said Pakistan wants
respectful repatriation of the Afghan refuges living here. Answering a
question regarding investigations of killing of former Afghan President
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, he said, those were still underway and
we’d formulate our stance after receiving the findings.
Earlier,
the Spokesperson in his opening remarks said that the fifth round of
expert level talks on Conventional Confidence Building Measures, and the
sixth round of expert level talks on Nuclear Confidence Building
Measures, will be held in Islamabad on December 26 -27, 2011
respectively. Munawar Saeed Bhatti, Additional Secretary (UN &
EC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, would head the Pakistan delegation for
both Expert Groups. On the Indian side, Mr. D. Bala Verma, Director
General (Disarmament & International Security Affairs) Ministry of
External Affairs, would lead the Nuclear CBMs Group, while Mr. Yashwant
K. Sinha, Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA),
would head the Conventional CBMs Group. The Foreign Secretaries of the
two countries met in Islamabad in June 2011 where, both sides, inter
alia, agreed to re-convene the two Expert Groups. These Expert Groups
last met in New Delhi in October 2007. Online
