Iran Not Behind Balochistan Crisis, Says Foreign Office

Daily Times:

Pakistan has dismissed speculations of Iran being behind the deteriorating situation in Balochistan, saying Iran was a good neighbour and it was unimaginable that Tehran would be behind the situation in the province. READ MORE

Addressing her weekly press briefing at the Foreign Office, FO spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said only a handful of miscreants were behind the deteriorating law and order in Balochistan. She said the miscreants had only one agenda, which was to damage the province’s development.

She said Pakistan thought of Iran as a friendly neighbour having close bilateral relations. “We can’t imagine Iran being behind the situation in Balochistan,” she added.

She also said the third round of the India-Pakistan composite dialogue process would begin in New Delhi from January 16, 2006. She said the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries would meet to discus issues related to Kashmir, peace and security and confidence-building measures (CBMs).

She said a meeting between the railways authorities of both countries to discus the Munabao-Khokhropar rail link would be held on January 5-6. She also confirmed that India and Pakistan had started discussing proposals on the demilitarisation and self-governance of Jammu and Kashmir. However, she said, “I won’t go into the level of the discussions.”

Whether the foreign secretaries of both countries would take up both proposals in their meetings in Delhi, she said: “I also won’t talk about the place where the proposals are being discussed.” Both proposals were formally floated in wake of the October 8 earthquake. She said that besides the proposals, the proposal for establishing a United Sates of Kashmir was also being discussed.

President Pervez Musharraf had presented the idea of demilitarising Kashmir. Recently, leaders based in Azad Kashmir forwarded the proposal of self-governance, which the Pakistani government later adopted.

The spokeswoman reiterated that legally there had been no change in Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir, as it still believed that UN resolutions provided a framework for the resolution of the dispute.

She also rejected Indian Army chief Gen JJ Singh’s statement that infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir had gone down. She said the cross-border infiltration issue was not the focus of talks between US and Pakistani officials. “No, this issue is not the standard talking point between the US and Pakistan. We have other important issues to discuss,” she added.

She said US Vice President Dick Cheney visited the quake-hit areas to review the ground situation and met Musharraf during his stay.

About the international community’s interest in the Indo-Pak talks, the spokeswoman said the international community would welcome any move leading to the resolution of Kashmir and to help reduce tensions between both countries.

She said a positive mindset was needed for the upcoming round of Indo-Pak talks. “CBMs will be discussed in the foreign secretary-level talks. I have already said that fresh proposals have been exchanged on Siachen and we hope that they will lead to the resolution of the issue,” said the spokeswoman. Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz would be visiting Pakistan though the dates had not yet been confirmed.”

She also said UAE President and ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan would be arriving in Pakistan on Tuesday (today).

The spokeswoman said she did not exactly know when former US president George Bush Senior would visit Pakistan in connection with the fundraising for earthquake victims. “He is an international personality who can muster support for the pledges and long-term engagements for the reconstruction of the quake-affected areas,” she added.

She also said the government would decide how long US troops would stay in Pakistan keeping in view its requirements in the earthquake-hit areas.

This denial of Iranian involvement may be in response the this report, The Public Affairs Magazine.