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Summary
Pakistan said its civil nuclear cooperation with China is under the safeguards of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Commenting on the recent statements and apprehensions of United States on the Pak-China nuclear cooperation, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit in his weekly briefing said, Pakistans civil nuclear cooperation is going on for years and it is under the IAEA safeguards only for peaceful purpose. He said China has also issued statement in this regard that the cooperation between Pakistan and China in the area of civilian use of nuclear energy is totally for peaceful purpose. The spokesman said China has also clarified that this cooperation between the two countries is in accordance with the respected international obligations. Replying to a question he said, the United States has reimbursed most of its claims for 2008 and 2009 under Coalition Support Fund and the remaining about 700 million dollars would be released in few months. He said there has been some delays in reimbursement of the claims but these do not warrant withdrawal of Pakistans forces from Western border. The spokesman said Pakistan is fighting violent extremist not only in its own interest but also for the sake of regional and global peace and prosperity and that is why it needs international support for the purpose.He hoped that future releases of CSF would be on time so that there are no glitches in carrying out this fight against terrorism effectively. The spokesman rejected the report of London School of Economics wherein Pakistan has been blamed for its links with Taliban. He said the report doesnt meet the basic standards of research and is not worth attention of Pakistan. Replying to another question he said Pakistan is supportive of Afghanistan-led process of reconciliation and reintegration in that country and wanted the process to be genuine. He hoped that the international community would give due consideration to the recommendations evolved by the Peace Jirga in Kabul held early this month. He said, Pakistan is fully prepared to play its role for peace and reconciliation because peace and stability in Afghanistan is in our long term interest. Regarding sectorial meetings being held between Pakistan and United States under the framework of Strategic Dialogue, he said these meetings are proceeding well. He said Working Groups on Defence; Science and Technology, Agriculture; Energy; Finance; Water and Market Access have already met while meeting of the working group on Law enforcement and Counter Terrorism; Women Empowerment, Health and Education as well as that on Communication and Public Diplomacy would be held later this month.The spokesman said, These are not meetings for the sake of meetings as the United States has declared that it wants to make a difference and specific projects are being discussed. He said in energy sector alone upto thirty projects have been identified. He said Asian Development Bank too is preparing a National Energy Plan for Pakistan which would be released soon. The spokesman said the representatives of Pakistan and the United States would meet next month to take stock of these sectoral meetings and the visit of the Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Pakistan would cap this round of strategic dialogue. Replying to a question Basit said Pakistan is looking forward to meeting between Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India on 15th of next month with a view to promoting peace and prosperity in the region.He said, It is approaching this engagement with positive mindset hoping that it would lead to results that are in our mutual interests. The spokesman hoped that this engagement would be purposeful and should address all the areas so that the two countries can bridge the trust deficit. He said an inter-ministerial meeting was held yesterday with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the chair to prepare recommendations for the upcoming Pakistan-India talks. These would be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval, he added.Replying to a question about repatriation of Pakistanis from Kyrgyzstan, the spokesman said Pakistani nationals living in Osh and surrounding areas of Kyrgyzstan have been evacuated and one or two nationals still in Osh and living their own will. He said there are 804 Pakistani nationals in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and surrounding areas but there is no plan for their evacuation as life is normal there. He said if any Pakistani national can leave Bishkek he can do so on his own. He said regular flights are also being operated from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, therefore, if any Pakistani wants to come back, he can manage it easily. He said, in the present circumstances, there is no need to start repatriation from Bishkek.The spokesman confirmed that a US national was arrested from Chitral recently and interrogations are underway. He also confirmed arrests of some Pakistanis in Yemen but added that details are being awaited. Replying to another question about the death of Pakistani Syed Muhammad Shah in Dubai, the spokesman said the Foreign Office is in touch the its missions in Dubai and Sharjah on the issue and making necessary arrangements to help his family to bring back his body.
