US envoy summoned to issue demarche over President Biden's statement

US envoy summoned to issue demarche over President Biden’s statement

KARACHI (Dunya News) – Following the statement of US President Joe Biden regarding Pakistan’s nuclear programme, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the federal government has summoned US Ambassador Donald Blome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an official demarche. 

Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Saturday, he said that the US President at an event had spoken about many countries, including Pakistan, about which he had a discussion with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and that we had summoned US Ambassador Donald Blome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an official demarche.

The foreign minister said that as far as the safety and security of Pakistan s nuclear assets are concerned, we have fulfilled all the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and if there were questions regarding the security and safety of nuclear assets, they should ask our neighbour India, which recently accidentally fired a missile on Pakistani soil, which was not only irresponsible and highly unsafe, but it also raises questions about the safety of Indian nuclear weapons.

"I was surprised by President Biden s statement," he said, and added, "I believe it was just a misunderstanding caused by a lack of communication, but fortunately we are now on a journey to restore communication. Recently, the 75th anniversary of Pakistan-US bilateral relations was celebrated in the State Department at the Secretary of State level, and if there was any concern in this regard, the matter should have been raised with me in that meeting.

He said, "We have summoned the US ambassador for demarche and I think we should give them [the US] a chance to explain their stance. I do not believe that this statement would have adverse effects on Pakistan-US relations. "

Letter to President UNSC, SG UNGA

Earlier today, the FM had addressed a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council and the UN Secretary General, drawing attention to the alarming situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), especially India’s ongoing unlawful measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.

In his letter, the Foreign Minister regretted India’s continued denial of the right of self-determination to the people of IIOJK. He recalled that the unilateral measures undertaken by India since August 5, 2019 in IIOJK, including the ongoing systematic efforts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, were in blatant violation of international law, including the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

He underscored that the Indian government was making expeditious moves to register as many as 2.5 million new voters in IIOJK before the upcoming local elections in the region, to meddle with and further alter the demographic make-up of the occupied territory.

The Foreign Minister reiterated that the only legal basis for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was the implementation of the relevant Security Council Resolutions stipulating the final disposition of the state through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Foreign Minister called upon the UN Security Council to take immediate cognizance of the ongoing illegal and unilateral actions by India to change the demographic composition of IIOJK; remind India that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized dispute; and prevail upon India to let the people of IIOJK determine their own future.

The Foreign Minister also urged the UN Security Council and the Secretary General to make concerted efforts to promote a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.