ISLAMABAD:
The Foreign Office on Thursday said the Torkham border was reopened only temporarily as the two sides would hold further negotiations to put in place a “permanent system” that would ensure seamless operation at the key border crossing.
The border was reopened on Wednesday after being remained closed for 26 days. It was shut on February 21 after a dispute arose over a check post the Afghan side was building on the Pakistani territory.
The decision to reopen the key crossing came as a result of a series of jirgas and a flag meeting between the two officials.
But the Foreign Office spokesperson clarified that the current arrangement would only be meant for next few weeks.
“Torkham has opened yesterday, and I think by tomorrow, pedestrian traffic will also be allowed. So, the current arrangement has been arrived at through mutual consultations, and this is a good, positive development which is up to 15th April,” Shafqat Ali Khan told a weekly news briefing.
“By that time, we expect that further negotiations and consultations would be held to put in place a permanent system which could ensure the continuous operation of the Torkham border seamlessly,” he added.
Official sources said that both sides still needed to sort out the issues. According to the sources, Pakistan wanted permanent guarantees that the Afghan side would not again construct any structure on the border without properly consulting the other side.
The border was reopened to ease pressure and allow stranded trucks and people to shuttle between the two countries.
The Foreign Office spokesperson suggested that border might be shut again if the issues were not sorted out by April 15.
The spokesperson, nevertheless, said the reopening of the border was a positive development adding: “We want to make it sustainable and permanent.”
The spokesperson made it clear that Pakistan would not extend the deadline for the repatriation of all Afghan citizens card holders. All such Afghans have been given until March 31 time to leave Pakistan or face deportation.
Regarding not consulting the UNHCR, the spokesperson clarified that Pakistan was not bound to consult the UNHCR. “We are not bound to consult UNHCR. First of all, Pakistan is not a member of the Refugee Convention. So, anything we have done for the Afghan refugees was done voluntarily for the past 50 years. So, with regards to international obligations, we have fulfilled more than our share, by offering this kind of hospitality to Afghans and we continue to welcome them.”
“But they should have Pakistani visas on their passport, and then they will be more than welcome. Also, there is a large body of Afghans living here with proper documentation,” he added.
Shafqat also confirmed that the Afghan Cd’A was summoned to the foreign office earlier this week to record a protest over the use of Afghan soil in recent terrorist attacks.
“This is part of the routine diplomatic activity. We do not announce it in the media. There is a regular interaction going on between the embassies based in Islamabad and the Foreign Ministry, it is a regular activity. So, nothing exception or unusual about it. We need to keep that in view,” he said.
The spokesperson said Pakistan had conveyed its concerns to Afghanistan consistently. “For example, the Special Representative, Ambassador Sadiq is also actively in contact. So, our position on this issue has consistently been conveyed to Afghan authorities through a number of channels. Indeed, terrorist threat against Pakistan from terrorist entities including TTP, BLA and ISKP is our foremost concern.”
“We continue to impress upon interim authorities to take visible and verifiable action against them, keeping in view their commitments given to the international community to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and groups from the Afghan soil,” he said.
India
The Foreign Office reiterated that India’s fictitious narrative of victimhood could not hide its involvement in fomenting terrorism on Pakistan’s soil and the state-sanctioned oppression in the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The Foreign Office spokesperson said that the Indian involvement in fanning terrorism in Pakistan and destabilising Balochistan was clear.
Referring to Indian involvement in global assassination plots, he said that not only in Pakistan, India had been sponsoring such unlawful activities in the entire region.
“Instead of blaming others, India should reflect on its own record of orchestrating targeted assassinations, subversion and terrorism in foreign territories,” he remarked and pointed out that India had not condemned the recent attack on Jaffar Express in Balochistan.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan was alarmed over the increased frequency of Indian leadership’s unwarranted assertions about Jammu and Kashmir.
He said it was India that took Jammu and Kashmir issue to the United Nations in 1948 so it had no right to blame the Security Council and its erstwhile members for the resolutions that were subsequently adopted.
“Repetition of baseless claims cannot deny the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory whose final status is to be determined by its people through a UN-supervised plebiscite, as stipulated in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
Reiterating Pakistan’s advocacy of constructive engagement and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, he said peace and stability in South Asia had remained hostage to India’s rigid approach and hegemonic ambitions.
“The anti-Pakistan narrative, emanating from India, vitiates the bilateral environment and impedes the prospects for peace and cooperation. It must stop,” he remarked.
Asked to comment on the reports of the visit of some Pakistani individuals to Israel, he said the foreign ministry had nothing to do with that as the information on the matter was being gathered.
However, he categorically explained that Pakistan’s position on the recognition of Israel and the rights of the Palestinian people was unwavering and unchanged.
Regarding the inclusion of Pakistani nationals in certain visa restriction categories, the spokesperson said that both the State Department and Foreign Office had refuted the speculative reports on social media.
He condemned Israel’s vicious attacks against the people of West Bank and Gaza, calling it a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement; international humanitarian law; the UN Charter; and hampers the confidence and faith in the global community and international law.
