ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Monday Pakistan would handle the Pak-Afghan border problem with Afghanistan professionally.
The foreign minister, speaking a press conference in the Federal Capital, claimed some “miscreants” were attempting to exploit the situation at the Pak-Afghan border.
“The border barrier works are underway.”
Highlighting the country’s diplomatic efforts in the previous year, the foreign minister claimed that Pakistan reached historic milestones through robust economic, public, and science diplomacy.
Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts
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According to Foreign Minister Qureshi, the previous year was “important” because Pakistan had “proactively and regularly” achieved its diplomatic objectives on a variety of diplomatic fronts, both bilaterally and multilaterally.
FM Qureshi stated that over 85 bilateral engagements with over 50 countries, as well as 35 high-level delegation trips to Pakistan, have taken place in the year 2021.
Over 50 high-level multilateral engagements, participation in 35 international forums, and 32 senior leadership visits by Pakistan were recorded in the preceding two years, he continued, citing figures from the prior years.
The foreign minister went on to say that the United Nations has accepted five resolutions sponsored or cosponsored by Pakistan. According to the report, “114 Pakistan missions have been rendered operational online through prominent social media sites.
Pak-China friendship
In terms of relations with Beijing, he stated that the year 2021 marked an important milestone in the friendship between Pakistan and China, as the two countries commemorated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in a befitting manner, with over 140 events and activities taking place across both countries.
Specifically, the foreign minister said, “Pakistan’s exports to China during the first ten months of 2021 were valued at US $ 2.85 billion” (growth of 77 percent year-on-year).
According to him, it was regrettable that India’s unwavering negative stance had rendered the most effective venue for economic cooperation and development ineffective.
Pak-India relations
Specifically, the foreign minister stated that India’s aggressive behaviour has jeopardised the possibilities for long-term peace and stability in the region, as well as the tremendous potential for economic development and regional cooperation.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi claimed that the Hindutva-inspired leadership of the BJP and the RSS had adopted a “especially irresponsible and politically motivated anti-Pakistan posture, as well as a manifestly anti-Muslim approach at home.”
New Delhi’s unilateral and unlawful measures in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) since August 5, 2019, he claimed, were intended at weakening Kashmir’s international legal status, perpetuating the illegal occupation, and altering the demographic structure of the disputed territory.
Continuing abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as state terrorism against innocent Kashmiris, according to the foreign minister, have harmed the environment and jeopardised international peace and security, he added.
“Pakistan wishes to maintain amicable relations with all of its neighbours, including India,” says the foreign minister. However, as the prime minister has stated, it is the responsibility of India to take the required steps to establish an environment favourable to conversation. It has been stated numerous times that “resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is a prerequisite for long-term peace and stability in South Asia.”
IOJK stats
The foreign minister went on to say that in October 2021, 1,400 Kashmiris were unlawfully detained in one of the largest crackdowns in the history of the Indian Ocean Jammu and Kashmir. Since August 5, 2019, more than 502 Kashmiris have been martyred by Indian occupation troops in fake encounters and extrajudicial operations, according to the Human Rights Watch.
