Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in Islamabad, expressed optimism that the situation in Ukraine would soon be resolved through negotiations. Pakistan is prepared to contribute to efforts to encourage such a dialogue and put an end to this bloodshed. At her weekly news briefing on Friday in Islamabad, she responded to a question by saying, “Pakistan and Russia are friends. We have a very solid relationship.” She stated that Pakistan will continue to communicate with Russia and that Islamabad is concerned about the suffering of civilians on both sides of the conflict. In response to a different query, the spokesperson stated that Pakistan had voiced its concerns on the use of Afghan soil for carrying out terrorist activities inside Pakistan to the Afghan interim authorities at level.
She said Pakistan expects that Afghanistan will adhere to its commitments it made with the international community to not allowing any individual or group to use its soil to pose threat to regional peace and security.
Regarding Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba ongoing visit to Pakistan, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said it has been the first ever move of this kind since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1993. She said Pakistan and Ukraine has agreed to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, investment, higher education, agriculture, defence, and information technology for the mutual benefit of both countries. They agreed on the importance of regular dialogue and engagement and decided to hold meetings of various institutional mechanisms in due course. She further said that it was also agreed to deepen cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.
The Spokesperson also spoke about the founder and President of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party Shabbir Ahmad Shah, who completed six years of his continued detention this month. She said incarcerated currently in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail, Shabbir Shah has spent 36 years in prison for his political views. She said that the total period of his confinement exceeds half of his life. He was rightly called by the ‘Amnesty International’ as a “Prisoner of Conscience”.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch urged India to put an end to the protracted imprisonment of Shabbir Shah and thousands of other Kashmiri political leaders and activists, whose “basic crime” is to demand their inalienable right to self-determination. These political prisoners must be released and acquitted of the fabricated charges against them.
Updating the media persons on the Greek Boat Tragedy, Spokesperson said two separate flights carrying the mortal remains of four Pakistanis who perished in the disaster have arrived in Lahore and Islamabad. She said the mortal remains have been handed over to the families in the districts of Gujrat and Gujranwala. She said Pakistan Mission in Greece has made plans for the transportation of the remaining dead bodies within the next few days. She said we also remain in contact with the Greek authorities for identification of the victims.
