Pakistan capable, determined to counter any threat to peace & security: FO

Pakistan capable, determined to counter any threat to peace & security: FO

Islamabad (Web Desk): The Foreign Office on Thursday said that Pakistan is capable and determined to counter any threat to its peace and security.

Responding to the queries of media persons at her weekly news briefing in Islamabad regarding terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that engagement mechanisms between Pakistan and Afghanistan are functional.

"Pakistan will continue to engage with the Afghan side on matters of mutual concerns including security and border management," she said.

The Spokesperson said Pakistan has consistently said it will continue to support the Afghan people in their quest for a unified, independent and sovereign Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and the neighbors.

Responding to another question, Baloch said "there is a positive momentum in relations between Islamabad and Washington," adding that Pakistan wants to proceed on the basis of mutual trust, respect and interest.

The FO spokesperson said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have close fraternal ties which are rooted in history and common faith.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that our relations are multidimensional and that includes cooperation in defense domain.

She said that the context of Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir's visit to the kingdom is to promote Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations and defence ties.

In regards to the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan being held in Geneva on Monday next, the Spokesperson said Pakistan expects long term response from the international community for building a climate resilient infrastructure.

Giving an overview of New Delhi's human rights violations in the Indian-illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the spokesperson said that Indian security forces reportedly killed 214 Kashmiris, 57 of them in custody or in fake encounters during the last year.

Last week, four individuals were killed in a fake encounter in Sidhra town in Jammu. According to reports, the bodies were charred beyond recognition. Baloch urged international human rights organisations to take note of this tragedy.

The spokesperson said that over 4,000 Kashmiris remain imprisoned in different jails in IIOJK and India. "Political prisoners and human rights defenders continued to be targeted and incarcerated," she said.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan will continue to extend unstinted moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of IIOJK in their quest for self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.