Dawn : Lal Masjid action not taken to appease US, says FO

Lal Masjid action not taken to appease US, says FO

By Qudssia Akhlaque | July 16

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday termed absurd the notion that the government had taken action against the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa administration to appease the United States.

“This is absurd and ridiculous. It doesn’t even deserve a comment,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing when her attention was drawn to the perception.

In reply to a query, she said some bodies found in the complex were suspected to be of foreign militants but so far there was no confirmation.

When asked whether any concern had been expressed by foreign diplomats regarding the security issue, she said: “Providing security to the diplomatic missions in Pakistan is the responsibility of the government of Pakistan and we are doing it.”

Replying to a question regarding the scrapping of the North Waziristan peace deal, the spokesperson asserted: “As far as the government of Pakistan is concerned, it has not scuttled the deal and negotiations with the tribal elders are continuing.”

She said the NWFP governor would be in a better position to give details about the current status of the dialogue.

To address the problems in the tribal areas, the government continued to pursue a comprehensive strategy with a political and economic approach, and, where necessary, military action, she said.

When asked about the fate of the Pakistan-Afghanistan grand peace jirga planned in Kabul, the spokesperson said the Jirga Commissions of both the countries had been meeting regularly to make preparations for it and the process was continuing.

Regarding Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement about the possibility of the LoC becoming a ‘line of peace’, Ms Aslam noted that it was an acknowledgement that the two sides were seriously discussing the Kashmir dispute. “Any out-of-the-box solution to the Kashmir dispute that reflects the aspirations of the Kashmiris would make the Line of Control irrelevant. If that happens, not only the LoC, but the whole of Kashmir would become the abode of peace,” she observed.

“Pakistan has always maintained that the dialogue process should focus on making progress on issues that have caused tension and conflict between Pakistan and India,” the spokesperson said.

She recalled that Pakistan had made many proposals for greater interaction between the Kashmiris on both sides.

On the European Parliament’s concern about democracy-related issues, the spokesperson said these were Pakistan’s internal matters and “nobody can ask the government of Pakistan what to do and what not to do.”

Referring to the latest resolution adopted by the European Parliament about Pakistan, she said it was non binding and it did not necessarily reflect the European Union’s position. “There are many factual inaccuracies and distortions in this resolution,” she asserted, noting that the resolution lamented the requirement of graduation for members of parliament, calling it gender discrimination.

She maintained that the resolution’s reference to the Lal Masjid episode and calling on the government to exercise restraint represented a “confused and conflicting approach” of the European Parliament towards fighting extremism.

When asked if Pakistan had sought compensation from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for killing civilians in the tribal area, Ms Aslam said the question ought to be addressed to director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations.

The spokesperson rejected a claim that Al Qaeda in Iraq took guidance from Pakistan. “We have no evidence of Al Qaeda operating in Iraq from Pakistan.”

Ms Aslam told a questioner that she was not aware whether the families of the Chinese nationals assassinated in Peshawar had demanded compensation. She said the bodies of the victims had been handed over to their families.

The spokesperson announced that the foreign secretary of Sri Lanka would arrive on Tuesday on a two-day visit for the second session of bilateral consultations.