ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday categorically rejected the possibility of providing military bases to any foreign government, with the Foreign Ministry declaring that the country has no plans to offer bases to any foreign government or military directed against anyone.
“These speculations are completely unfounded and there is no truth in it. We reject it and there is absolutely no basis for these social media speculations,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch while addressing her weekly briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.
The FO said that Pakistan has good relations with both the US as well as Iran and will take forward ties with these countries keeping in view our national interest.
She said the Pakistan-China-Iran tripartite talks are very important though no date has yet been set for this dialogue.
The Foreign Office reiterated that the ongoing Indian campaign of attacking and seizing the properties of the Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) was destined to fail, just like its colonial strategies and harsh statements. “Pakistan strongly condemns India’s continued campaign of attacking and seizing the properties of Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The reality is that the harsh statements and colonial strategies have been unsuccessful in quelling the determination of Kashmiris for freedom, and these measures are destined to face similar outcomes in the future,” Mumtaz Baloch said.
She reiterated Pakistan’s determination to continue to extending political, diplomatic, and moral support to Kashmiris for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council’s resolutions.
As different parts of the IIOJK recently witnessed heavy rains, flash floods, and landslides, resulting in loss of life and property, the spokesperson expressed sympathies with the victims of these national calamities and prayed for the eternal peace of the deceased and wished speedy recovery to the injured.
Apprising the media of the ongoing visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to The Gambia to attend the Council of Foreign Ministers and the OIC Summit, the spokesperson said that at the Summit, Pakistan would highlight the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the right to self-determination of Kashmiris people, the imperatives of solidarity and unity of the Muslim Ummah, rising Islamophobia, issues of climate change, terrorism, and other contemporary global challenges.
On the sidelines, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister would hold bilateral meetings with leaders and foreign ministers participating in the summit.
Pakistan will also underline the need to find collective solutions to challenges confronting Muslim Ummah, she added.
Highlighting other diplomatic engagements during the previous week, she informed the media of the visit of US Undersecretary for Political Affairs John Bass and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst to Pakistan and their meeting with Acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Rahim Hayat Qureshi. Two sides discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation and underscored the importance of sustained engagement through various dialogue processes, including areas of trade, investment, energy, health, education, agriculture, and climate change.
Pakistan will continue to engage with the United States to enhance bilateral cooperation and understanding, the spokesperson remarked.
Commenting on the Gaza situation, Spokesperson Baloch said the Israeli occupation forces continued to take illegal steps in the West Bank in violation of international law.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the rising violations of human rights by Israel and the increasing number of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel’s actions constitute a breach of international law, including humanitarian laws and United Nations and OIC resolutions. These acts also undermine any prospects of a two-state solution,” she remarked.
She called for the international community’s efforts to prevent Israel from committing the egregious crimes in Palestine and the UN Security Council to impose an immediate prominent ceasefire, urge Israel to lift the siege of Gaza, facilitate humanitarian assistance, protect the civilians, and hold the perpetrators of the genocide accountable.
Reiterating Pakistan’s full support to the people of Palestine, she called for the establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
