Daily Times

Pakistan on Thursday said it does not differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban and will continue to hunt down all terrorists without any distinction.

Addressing a weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Faisal confirmed that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist Mullah Fazlullah, who was responsible for Army Public School attack and other similar incidents, had been killed in Afghanistan. He said the news of his killing was received in Pakistan with much relief, especially by the families of the innocent who were killed by the terrorist organization, including the APS martyrs.

The spokesman said the ceasefire between the Afghan government and Taliban on the eve of Eid was a “step in the right direction which Pakistan supports and welcomes.” He said Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan’s stability is clear as it believes that the only viable solution lies in an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.

On the Pak-Afghan ties, Dr Faisal said Pakistan supports the establishment of peace in the neighbouring country, however the Afghan leadership must decide how it should be achieved.

On Pakistan’s relations with India, the spokesperson said despite hollow assertions by New Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized dispute pending on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council.

“The dissociation of India from reality is alarming. Indian attempts to exploit and cash in on the international environment by labeling the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people as terrorism makes a mockery of the victims of the actual terrorism and is reprehensible,” he said. “If it really has nothing to hide, India can address its claims of the report being based on unverified information by allowing the access of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) to the occupied valley,” he added.

Dr Faisal said Pakistan had set free 291 Indian prisoners in the past six months. He also pointed out that the country had abided by the ceasefire agreement on Eid-ul-Fitr. “We condemn Indian continued and unabated atrocities at the hands of Indian occupation forces which continued with impunity even on the holy occasion of Eid,” he said, adding that Indian occupation forces had martyred 16 innocent Kashmiris in the past two weeks.

The spokesman said Pakistan’s position on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s issue remains consistent. “We have nothing to hide in the case of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav. We invited the Indian media to visit Pakistan and participate in a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. India backed out then. Now again, we are ready for a Commission of Enquiry to visit both Azad Jammu and Kashmir and IHK. India has again backed out,” he said. “The isolation of India in the international community is complete. The skeletons in Indian closet are growing in numbers and size. Right-wing governments end up paying a high price,” he added.

The spokesman condemned the targeted killing of Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari within hours of his tweet on the OHCHR’s report on Jammu and Kashmir. “Shujaat Bukhari has joined the ranks of thousands of Kashmiri martyrs who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of peace and justice for the people of Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan reiterates its call on the Government of India to conduct an independent, transparent and credible investigation into his murder and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said.

To a question about a statement by Gilgit Baltistan chief secretary that GB was not a disputed territory for its people paying taxes to the government of Pakistan, the spokesman rejected the notion and said GB was part of Jammu and Kashmir which was a disputed territory. “The GB chief secretary’s remarks are categorically wrong and there should not be any doubt about it,” the spokesman said, adding that the territories including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Indian-held Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Laddakh remained in the disputed category of the United Nations.

When asked about the meeting of Pakistani Consul General in Houston Ayesha Farooqi with Aafia Siddiqui, the spokesman said the meeting took place on May 23 where Siddiqui complained about the mistreatment being meted out to her. He said Siddiqui also handed over the consul general a private letter addressed to her mother.

Published in Daily Times, June 22^nd 2018.