National News

ISLAMABAD, (MILLAT+APP): Pakistan “despite India’s negativity in scuttling SAARC process” would attend the Heart of Asia Conference due to its commitment to Afghanistan’s peace and stability.
“India has been instrumental in scuttling the SAARC summit,
and Pakistan despite all negativity of India is going to participate
in the Heart of Asia Conference,” the Foreign Office spokesman said
at a weekly press briefing.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will
attend the Heart of Asia Conference being held on December 3-4 in
Amritsar, India.
Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan believed in peaceful
neighbourhood and regarded dialogue as the best option for
resolution of issues.
He, however categorically said that Pakistan would not accept
any pre-conditions for holding dialogue with India. It is always India that is putting up conditions for dialogue with Pakistan, he added.
The Spokesman said the Heart of Asia Conference would follow
the previous agenda as the 14 countries would take stock of the
progress.
“Every country has its own share of bringing stability in
Afghanistan and Pakistan’s participation means its commitment for
peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he said.
Zakaria said the current phase of indigenous self-determination movement in Indian occupied Kashmir had entered into the fifth month
and was continuing in the face of worst violations of human rights of defenceless Kashmiris at the hands of Indian occupation forces.
“The world has before it the unending sufferings and misery of
those over a thousand Kashmiris, including children, who have been
deliberately blinded,” he said.
The Spokesman mentioned the British daily `The Guardian’s
touching report of November 8, which said “There is no recorded
instance of a modern democracy systematically and willfully shooting
at people to blind them.”
He said the doctors in Indian occupied Kashmir expressed their
dissatisfaction and rejected “as ambiguous” the report compiled by
the Ophthalmology Pathologists in India, suspecting that there was
something else about the pellet shots that was causing insides of
the eye to turn into a charcoal-like substance.
Zakaria said that Pakistan had been insisting on `independent fact
finding mission to the IoK’ and similar demands from UN High
Commissioner in Geneva, OIC and OIC Contact Group’s Members had not
been met.
On India’s growing relations with Israel and Bangladesh, the
Spokesman said that Pakistan without out commenting on bilateral relations
between any two countries, however stressed that ties should not
affect the third country.
On Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement refuting media reports
of negotiations with Pakistan regarding its inclusion in the China
Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Spokesman said “the statement
is self-explanatory”.
Whether Pakistan could unilaterally offer other countries to
join CPEC, Zakaria said “CPEC is the project of both China and
Pakistan and both countries would decide as how and what sort of
indulgence and participation of other countries would be made in
CPEC and CPEC-related projects”.
He said that Pakistan-Russia relationship was growing steadily and
“we give high importance to it”.
The Spokesman expressed shock over the tragic plane crash of
Brazilian Succor team and said Adviser Sartaj Aziz in his letter to
Brazilian Foreign Minister had conveyed condolences.