Islamabad:
The Foreign Office said on Wednesday that Pakistan’s position on the Ukraine dispute is to maintain strict neutrality.
“We continue to discuss matters of mutual interest and we believe that Russia understands that Pakistan has taken a neutral stance on the dispute between Russia and Ukraine,” spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly press conference.
She was responding to a question on relations with Russia following a recent news report by American publication The Intercept which claimed that Pakistan supplied arms to Ukraine through the United States to secure an IMF deal. Did.
The publication backed its claims by two sources with knowledge of the arrangement, saying that internal documents from both the Pakistani and US governments confirm the development.
The spokesperson said there were very strong interactions between the two countries and several visits and exchanges.
Responding to a question on the US ambassador’s meetings with senior officials of the Election Commission and police and his visit to Gwadar, he said foreign ambassadors to Pakistan “are free to meet government officials and public figures, just like our ambassadors. ” “In the countries of their posting.
He said Turkie was an “old friend and brother” of Pakistan, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s address at the UN General Assembly session, where he supported the Kashmir issue and proposed talks between Pakistan and India. .
Reading Pakistan rejects reports of ‘secret’ Ukraine arms deal
Addressing a weekly press conference, he said, “Turkey has always had a principled stand on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and is equally saddened by the plight of the Kashmiri people.”
Baloch said that Pakistan is ready to talk with India on all disputes, especially the main dispute of Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “With regard to third party mediation, Pakistan has always said that we will welcome it on the Jammu and Kashmir issue on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions and in accordance with the principles of international law.”
He said, Pakistan will continue to raise the issue of India sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan and repression of the people of IIOJK. He said that human rights violations continue in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
During the first eight months of this year, Indian occupation forces in IIOJK killed 68 Kashmiris, including 13 custodial killings, including women and children. Additionally, 2,900 people, including political activists, businessmen, women, and youth, were arbitrarily arrested.
Asked about Pakistan’s position on escalating tensions over the Nagorno Karabakh issue, Baloch said Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan while recognizing Karabakh as its sovereign territory.
On the PM’s visit to New York to attend the UNGA, he said he was accompanied by a small delegation including the External Affairs Minister, the Foreign Secretary and some senior officials.
In his upcoming address on September 22, he said the Prime Minister will outline Pakistan’s position on a number of regional and global issues, including the long-unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute on the UN agenda.
“He will also share the steps taken by Pakistan to strengthen economic recovery and efforts to mobilize domestic and external investment,” he said.
