Pakistan on Thursday strongly rejected criticism from some states about the Feb 8 parliamentary elections.
“Pakistan does not need any advice from any country on elections,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a weekly press briefing here, adding that “we take our constitutional obligations seriously.”
When asked to comment on concerns raised by some countries, including the United States, who asked Pakistan to conduct investigations into complaints over results, she said electoral process in Pakistan is an internal matter.
She said that Pakistan is a democratic country where people have freedom of expression. “It is the right of the people of Pakistan to freely express their opinion. The Election Commission was monitoring the entire election process. The Commonwealth delegation spoke about the transparency of the electoral process in Pakistan, she added.
On invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected government, Ms Baloch said that the new government would take a decision in this regard.
Regarding India’s involvement in targeted killings, she said that Pakistan was in touch with the country in which the attack was planned.
The spokesperson said investigations are going on about the cases of extrajudicial killings of Pakistanis by India. In the past too, India has been involved in extrajudicial killings in Pakistan, she stated.
PALESTINE CEASEFIRE
She said Pakistan has called upon the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to fulfill its responsibility mandated under the UN Charter and to urgently intervene to impose a ceasefire and bring an end to the massacre of the Palestinian people.
“The siege of Gaza must be lifted to prevent further deaths and suffering from famine and non-availability of decent medical care. Pakistan stands resolute in its unwavering diplomatic, moral, political, and humanitarian support to the besieged people of Gaza,” Ms Baloch said.
Calling for an immediate reversal of the decision by some countries to suspend UNRWA’s funding, she reiterated Pakistan’s endorsement of the OIC’s condemnation of ongoing Israeli military aggression against Gaza and the expansion of indiscriminate attacks on the Rafah city.
She said that the OIC had raised alarm on expansion and escalation of the pace of the Israeli aggression and warned against an unacceptable attempt to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from their own land.
“Israel’s merciless onslaught against the 1.4 million displaced people in Rafah is a blatant defiance of the provisional measures outlined by the International Court of Justice in its interim order,” she remarked.
KASHMIR ISSUE
The spokesperson said Delhi’s campaign to curb dissent in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remained in full swing.
“On 10th February 2024, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), conducted multiple raids on 15 properties of the Jammat-i-Islami, Kashmir, in different cities. These raids were part of an ongoing crackdown on the Kashmiri political organisations. The Jamaat-i-Islami is one of the six political organisations already proscribed by India,” she continued.
The spokesperson urged the Indian authorities to end intimidation and persecution of the Kashmiri political activists and parties, also calling for the release of all Kashmiri political prisoners and activists.
“Pakistan will continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions,” she reiterated.
Apprising the media of the diplomatic engagements took place during the last week, she mentioned the 14th round of the Pakistan-Russia Consultative Group on Strategic Stability held on February 7 in which two sides discussed issues related to international security, regional stability, and various aspects of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation. Issues around biological, space and information security, as well as new and emerging technologies, including the military use of artificial intelligence were also discussed.
Ms Baloch also informed the media about the recent formal establishment of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Dominica as a joint communique was signed by the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram and his Dominican counterpart Ambassador Philbert Aaron.
