pakomar
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ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday indirectly confirmed handing over to India proof of involvement of its spy agency in subversive activities in Pakistan, stressing that this was reflected in the joint communiqué issued at the end of Gilani-Singh meeting in Sharm El Sheikh last week.
'What I can say is that whatever was discussed and whatever was handed over is contained in the joint statement issued after the meeting of the two prime ministers, said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit in reply to a question on Dawns report about evidence given to New Delhi of Indian hand in unrest and sabotage on Pakistani soil.
However, the spokesman avoided giving details of the substantiation shared with India, saying: These involve intelligence issues. As a matter of policy, we do not discuss intelligence matters in public.
On being peppered with questions about the dossier, Mr Basit repeatedly referred the media to the joint communiqué.
The revelation that the Indian prime minister had been given a dossier about RAWs link in terror activities in Pakistan was met with shock and disbelief in India.
Except for a rare on-record denial by Indian functionaries, most of the repudiation carried by India was attributed to unconfirmed sources either in the external affairs ministry or the Prime Ministers Office. Observers see it as an indication that both Pakistan and India may have decided in the Sharm El Sheikh meeting against going public on the matter.
The Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, while talking to Indian media, maintained an ambiguous position and said: I have not seen this dossier myself. If there is a dossier I am sure competent colleagues in my ministry are looking at it, and I am sure that when we have studied it we would have a suitable response.
The Foreign Office is still keeping hopes alive for the resumption of Composite Dialogue discouraging signals coming out of New Delhi notwithstanding.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon has described the joint communiqué that he himself negotiated with his Pakistani counterpart Mr Salman Bashir as imperfect and clumsily drafted.
Mr Basit refused to take Indian volte-face as backing out from the commitment made in the Egyptian Red Sea resort. He optimistically said: We hope that the meetings which will be held between the two foreign secretaries will be productive and help to define a trajectory for the resumption of the Composite Dialogue. This is what we expect and it would not be appropriate if I prejudge the outcome of these meetings.
US TROOPS
The spokesman said there was an operational consensus between the United States and Pakistan on the surge of American troops in Afghanistan.
This issue (troop surge) has been under discussion between Pakistan and the US. Whatever is done is being done with mutual understanding and we believe that the US does understand our concerns.
In an apparent indication of deployment of additional troops in Balochistan areas bordering Afghanistan, he said Pakistan was re-arranging deployment of its troops along the border and beefing up military presence in those areas where infiltration was likely because of the Helmand operation.
CHINA UNREST
The Foreign Office distanced itself from the OIC move to discuss the situation in Xinjiang province of China.
That is Chinas internal matter. So we do not see any role for any international organisation in this internal matter of China, Mr Basit said.
He reminded OIC countries, which met in Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss the Muslim unrest in Xinjiang, that China was a great friend of the Muslim World. Moreover, he said, the Xinjiang unrest was not an issue of Muslims versus others.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | FO indirectly confirms proof given to India
'What I can say is that whatever was discussed and whatever was handed over is contained in the joint statement issued after the meeting of the two prime ministers, said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit in reply to a question on Dawns report about evidence given to New Delhi of Indian hand in unrest and sabotage on Pakistani soil.
However, the spokesman avoided giving details of the substantiation shared with India, saying: These involve intelligence issues. As a matter of policy, we do not discuss intelligence matters in public.
On being peppered with questions about the dossier, Mr Basit repeatedly referred the media to the joint communiqué.
The revelation that the Indian prime minister had been given a dossier about RAWs link in terror activities in Pakistan was met with shock and disbelief in India.
Except for a rare on-record denial by Indian functionaries, most of the repudiation carried by India was attributed to unconfirmed sources either in the external affairs ministry or the Prime Ministers Office. Observers see it as an indication that both Pakistan and India may have decided in the Sharm El Sheikh meeting against going public on the matter.
The Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, while talking to Indian media, maintained an ambiguous position and said: I have not seen this dossier myself. If there is a dossier I am sure competent colleagues in my ministry are looking at it, and I am sure that when we have studied it we would have a suitable response.
The Foreign Office is still keeping hopes alive for the resumption of Composite Dialogue discouraging signals coming out of New Delhi notwithstanding.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon has described the joint communiqué that he himself negotiated with his Pakistani counterpart Mr Salman Bashir as imperfect and clumsily drafted.
Mr Basit refused to take Indian volte-face as backing out from the commitment made in the Egyptian Red Sea resort. He optimistically said: We hope that the meetings which will be held between the two foreign secretaries will be productive and help to define a trajectory for the resumption of the Composite Dialogue. This is what we expect and it would not be appropriate if I prejudge the outcome of these meetings.
US TROOPS
The spokesman said there was an operational consensus between the United States and Pakistan on the surge of American troops in Afghanistan.
This issue (troop surge) has been under discussion between Pakistan and the US. Whatever is done is being done with mutual understanding and we believe that the US does understand our concerns.
In an apparent indication of deployment of additional troops in Balochistan areas bordering Afghanistan, he said Pakistan was re-arranging deployment of its troops along the border and beefing up military presence in those areas where infiltration was likely because of the Helmand operation.
CHINA UNREST
The Foreign Office distanced itself from the OIC move to discuss the situation in Xinjiang province of China.
That is Chinas internal matter. So we do not see any role for any international organisation in this internal matter of China, Mr Basit said.
He reminded OIC countries, which met in Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss the Muslim unrest in Xinjiang, that China was a great friend of the Muslim World. Moreover, he said, the Xinjiang unrest was not an issue of Muslims versus others.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | FO indirectly confirms proof given to India
