Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD (TNS) Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has said that there is no change in Pakistan’s position on recognizing Israel.
There is no information about Pakistanis going to Israel. In the weekly press briefing, senior Pakistani journalist Asghar Ali Mubarak asked that regarding the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Israel, it is believed that a delegation from the previous government had also visited Israel. Is there any backdoor communication channel running? Because we have also seen some changes in this regard in some Arab countries? In response, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said that there is no information about Pakistanis going to Israel and there has been no change in Pakistan’s policy regarding recognition of Israel. The Foreign Office Spokesperson said that the news about the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Israel came to light from the media, a person tweeted about going to Israel. He said that we have no knowledge of this visit, but information is being collected in this regard. We will be in a position to say something after receiving information about the visit, while there is no change in Pakistan’s position regarding recognition of Israel. Regarding the Israeli attacks, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan condemns Israel’s attacks on Gaza, Israel’s attacks are against the ceasefire.
In his reaction to the recent statements about the Indian leadership, Shafqat Ali Khan said that if the Indian leadership calls the massacre of millions of Kashmiris peaceful, there is no truth in it.
The truth is that they are involved in the massacre of millions of Kashmiris. He said that India is involved in terrorism inside Pakistan and New Delhi has not even condemned the Jaffer Express attack in Balochistan while India is busy destabilizing the entire South Asia. In response to a question, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that the remarks made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his podcast regarding regional peace were wrong and one-sided. It may be recalled that Modi, in a podcast with American podcaster Lex Friedman, accused Pakistan of responding to New Delhi’s efforts to promote peace with hostility and deceit while Pakistan has waged a proxy war against India. The Indian Prime Minister said that Pakistan has allegedly become a center of concern not only for India but also for the entire world today, while wherever terrorism occurs in the world, it somehow leads to Pakistan. The spokesperson said that as far as Pakistan’s position on Israel is concerned, it is very unambiguous. There is no question of recognizing Israel or changing Pakistan’s position on the issues of Palestine or Arab Israel. It is very clear and very strong. The Foreign Office had no prior knowledge of the visit. We came to know about the visit through the media reports you are referring to. We do not have any details about who visited except one individual who posted on Twitter. Since we do not know their details, we cannot comment on what type of passport they carried or whether they held dual citizenship. Regarding relations with the US and travel restrictions on Pakistan, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan and the US have strong relations in various fields. He said that the meeting with the US Chargé d’Affaires at the Foreign Office was a routine diplomatic one. There has been no formal communication about the travel restrictions yet, these things are just media speculations for now. Talking about Afghanistan, Shafqat Ali Khan said that calling Afghan diplomats to the Foreign Ministry is a routine, there are other channels of communication with Afghanistan besides the embassy, the Pak-Afghan Torkham border has been opened for trade and today the path will also be opened for pedestrians. He said that there has been no change in the date for Afghan citizens to return from Pakistan, Pakistan had given Afghan citizens 31st date to leave the country.
The Foreign Office spokesperson further said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while the Prime Minister thanked Saudi Arabia for its continuous support to Pakistan. Shafqat Ali Khan said that a fact-finding committee has been formed on various rumors on social media, the committee will investigate various social media rumors and allegations. In response to a question, he said that information was received from the consulate regarding the arrest of our citizens in Spain, Pakistan advises all parties in Syria and Lebanon to exercise restraint.
