Says Wakhan is part of Afghanistan
Abdul Hadi Mayar Islamabad
Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the Gaza ceasefire reached the previous day and expressed the hope that the truce will lead to permanent ceasefire and help in scaling up humanitarian assistance to the oppressed people of Gaza.
“We have seen the news of the two sides reaching a ceasefire, a truce, through the mediation and efforts of a number of countries involved. We take this development positively and as I noted and we hope that this would lead to a permanent ceasefire, which could alleviate the unprecedented sufferings which have befallen the people of Palestine and Gaza,” said the newly inducted Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan while addressing his maiden week press briefing.
“Let it play out and we will be able to see how it evolves in the coming days,” he added. He said Pakistan had sent 11 consignments of aid to Gaza and ‘as the humanitarian convoys will hopefully be able to enter Gaza, the Government of Pakistan will work to send more assistance to our brothers and sisters in Gaza.’
To a question, he said Wakhan was a part of Afghan territory, adding that Afghanistan was a neighbor of Pakistan and Pakistan recognized its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“There is no question of Pakistan having designs on one of its neighbors, the question doesn’t arise. So I would deem this assertion too speculative and totally erroneous.” Khan said Afghanistan is a neighbor of Pakistan, adding that ‘we wish Afghanistan the best, and we want to nurture and develop strong, vibrant relations, the way it should be between two neighbors.’
“Afghanistan is a sovereign country. We have never aspired nor we have tried nor do we intend to aspire to have a veto on what kind of relations it wants to have with other countries,” Khan responded. Answering a question about Indian External Affairs Ministry’s statement on alleged Pakistani strikes inside Afghanistan, the spokesperson said instead of pointing fingers at others, India must put an end to state sponsored terrorism aimed at destabilizing its neighbors and international community at large, and refrain from its destructive policies threatening regional peace and security.
On recent interaction between Pakistan and Tajikistan, the spokesperson said Tajikistan was a very close friend and partner of Pakistan and ‘we have long standing relations with Tajikistan and exchange of visits and consultations across the governments is a normal feature of this relation.’
