Islamabad: Foreign Office says Pakistan has faithfully complied with and completed all technical requirements of Financial Action Task Force, hoping the world body will also take decisions in accordance with the technical standards.
At his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Friday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said there are issues of politicization in the FATF by some countries wherein technical requirements are set aside and political considerations take the forefront. He, however, said Pakistan is a strong and important country and it knows to defend its interests.
Responding to a question, the Foreign Office Spokesperson said Pakistan has faced and confronted the menace of terrorism with a lot of courage and success. He said India has a track record of supporting terrorism in Pakistan. We are aware of the threat and we will take all necessary steps to halt it.
The Spokesperson said formal invites have been issued to all the OIC-member countries to attend the 48th session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting to be held in Islamabad on 22nd and 23rd March.
Asim Iftikhar said Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to visit Russia next week.
Regarding Russia-Ukraine crisis, the spokesperson hoped that continued engagement will lead to a diplomatic solution, saying it is the right way to go.
On the other hand, on the fifteenth anniversary of the atrocious terrorist attack on the Samjhauta Express, which killed 68 innocent passengers, including 44 Pakistanis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Hindutva fanaticism and “Saffron terror” that drove the barbaric attack 15 years ago had intensified exponentially under India’s present leadership.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and apprised of Pakistan’s grave disappointment with the Indian government’s callous attitude toward the plight of Pakistani nationals’ families who continue to await justice fifteen years later.
The Charge d’Affaires was urged to convey to the Government of India in the strongest possible terms Pakistan’s condemnation of the heinous conviction and exoneration of all accused in the heinous terrorist attack, including Swami Aseemanand, an RSS activist who publicly confessed to being the mastermind of the egregious attack, said the Foreign Office statement.
“This was another example of the brazen impunity and complete state protection that terrorists enjoy in BJP-ruled India,” stated the FO spokesperson in a statement.
The Charge d’Affaires was also entrusted for conveying to the Indian government Pakistan’s desire for a fair trial and the prosecution of those responsible for the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack, its stated, adding that families of innocent Pakistani nationals who were ruthlessly murdered by Hindutva-inspired militants need closure, it stated.
Additionally, the Pakistan’s Foreign Office strongly urged India to cease the use of terrorism as a tool of state policy and to adhere to its duties under the international legal framework controlling terrorism, it was stated.
