India supports subversion and terrorism inside Pakistan: FO

Muhammad Asad

ISLAMABAD: India supports subversion and terrorism inside Pakistan and employs these tools as a policy to achieve its state objectives while Pakistan is committed to fighting terrorism till the very end. It was observed by Spokesperson Pakistan Foreign Office, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed during his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Friday.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said that arrest of Indian Spy and Naval Commander Kulbhushan Yadhav had exposed the real face of India and Yadhav is alive proof of India’s involvement in terrorism inside Pakistan as well as in
the region.

While answering another question, the spokesperson said that Pakistan pursues a clear-minded and well-thought-out foreign Policy under which Pakistan wants cordial relations with all its neighbors including India. While commenting on the ongoing trial of Indian Spy Kulbhushan Yadhav in a Pakistani court, Asim Iftikhar said that Pakistan is committed to providing the right of a transparent trial to Indian spy and continuously urging India to hire a lawyer for him, however, India is not cooperating with Pakistan in this regard despite the clear instructions of the ICJ.
Asim Iftikhar said that India’s extremist behavior is behind the suspension of the dialogues between Pakistan and India, however, Pakistan believes that negotiation is the only way forward for resolutions of all disputes including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to him, Pakistan desires balanced, broad-based, and objective relations with all countries in the world including the United States and European Union. While responding to a media query regarding the sale of Uranium in the Indian black market, the Spokesperson said that there had been numerous incidents of the sale of nuclear material in Indian black markets in the recent past.

According to him, the international community must take notice of such grave violations of global declarations regarding the security and safety of nuclear material including the UN Security Council Resolution 1540 and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) which made it binding on states to ensure stringent measures to prevent nuclear material from falling into wrong hands.

Asim Iftikhar further noted that it is equally important to ascertain the intent and ultimate use of the attempted sale of nuclear material given its relevance to international peace and security as well as the sanctity of the global non-proliferation regime.

While answering another question, the spokesperson said that there is no option of trade with India so far. While responding to a query regarding Pakistanis in Ukraine, Asim Iftikhar said that Pakistan Embassy in Ukraine is working 24/7 to help stranded Pakistanis in their evacuation from the war-hit country, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is continuing to update the nation regarding the evacuation drive of Pakistani citizens from Ukraine.