Summary FO Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah held a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Pakistan wants result-oriented dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir and promote bilateral relations, Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah reiterated on Thursday.
In a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, the Spokesman said we are waiting how to move forward after the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Paris, the Radio Pakistan reported.
Earlier today, the Indian media reported that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to visit Pakistan next week however New Delhi’s confirmation is awaited in this regard. On November 9, Pakistan had invited Sushma Swaraj to attend the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference in Islamabad.
ALSO READ: Indian FM likely to visit Pakistan next week
The ‘Heart of Asia‘ conference will be attended by representatives from Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE.
The conference will begin in Islamabad from Tuesday and theme of the Conference is ‘Istanbul Process - enhanced cooperation in countering security threat and promoting connectivity in the heart of Asia’.
Qazi Khalilullah said according to the programme, the conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
He said confirmation of the Afghan President’ss visit to Pakistan is awaited. He said so far Foreign Ministers of China, Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan have confirmed their participation while other confirmation list is being updated on daily basis.
He said agenda of the Heart of Asia Conference is aimed at cementing regional ties. It also aimed at expanding cooperation among Afghanistan and
regional partners in countering terrorism and elimination of poverty and extremism.
To a question, the Spokesman said Islamic State group, also known as Daesh, is a terrorist organization and added there are no footprints of it in Pakistan. He said Pakistan is committed to root out terrorism from the country and in this connection operation Zarb-e-Azb is going on successfully.
He said Pakistan is also cooperating at international level to eliminate terrorism by intelligence sharing and the country is in favour of coordinated action against terrorists and not in favour of joint action.
To a question regarding statement of Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, the Spokesman said it is against diplomatic norms for an Ambassador to try to undermine relations of his host country with a third country. He expected all regional countries to support efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
