ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office has said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have to rely on institutional and cooperative mechanism for combating cross-border terrorism.
“We are availing all opportunities to engage with each other for addressing the issues of concern,” the Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said during his weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.
However, the said that there is a need for effective border management between Pakistan and Afghanistan to combat the common threat of terrorism which affects the people of both the countries.
The spokesman said that Pakistan strongly condemns the killing of innocent and defenseless Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).
“We call upon India to stop bloodshed and the ongoing brutalities in IOK,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said that Pakistan continues to suffer from Indian sponsored and financed terrorism, adding that for this purpose, India is also using the Afghan soil against Pakistan.
Nafees Zakaria said that within India, the religious minorities are maltreated due to rise in Hindu extremism, adding that Indian government has closed down the non-vegetarian shops. He said that international community should take notice of the prosecution of minority groups in India.
The spokesman also urged the international community to take notice of the human rights violation in the Occupied Kashmir.
The foreign office spokesman said that the Kashmiris should be given the rights to self-determination according to the charter of the United Nation Security Council resolutions.
Replying to another question, the spokesperson said the China’s interest in Pakistan is on sustainable development.
Zakaria said that China is one of the oldest and time-tested friends of Pakistan, adding that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would bring positive change in the entire region.
