ISLAMABAD: Amid a flurry of activity on the diplomatic front, the year-end press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday left several questions unanswered, as the Foreign Office spokesperson parried queries regarding recent air strikes on Afghanistan, as well as pro-Imran Khan statements from an official of the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Responding to a volley of questions about voices from the US, including President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming aide, Richard Grenell, demanding Imran Khan’s release, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said she would not like to comment on “anyone making statements in their individual capacity”.
“We would like to have positive, constructive relations with the United States on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs… We will continue to engage with officials and public personalities in the United States and discuss with them, issues of mutual interest and mutual concern,” she remarked.
Talking about the recent sanctions imposed on three commercial entities and one government entity involved with Pakistan’s missile programme, she said these measures were taken by US authorities unilaterally and were not the result of bilateral discussions or negotiations.
“We believe these unilateral measures are unfounded and irrational. It is important that in taking such measures, the United States shall take into account strategic stability in South Asia,” the spokesperson added.
She reiterated that Pakistan’s strategic and missile programme eas defensive in nature. “It is not at all directed against the United States or any other country. It is regional in context, it’s a modest programme. So we do not understand the logic that this modest programme of a friendly country in South Asia could somehow threaten the security of a superpower,” she remarked.
