Current Final

Tag: Foreign Office

  • Saudi Arabia backstabbing Pakistan at FATF?

    Saudi Arabia backstabbing Pakistan at FATF?

    Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has rejected “false media reports” regarding Saudi Arabia’s role in the assessment of Pakistan’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plan.

    According to a press release, FO categorically rejected the story circulating on a segment of the media as false and baseless.

    Earlier in the day, Azhar Mashwani, Punjab chief minister’s focal person for digital media, tweeted that reports of Saudi Arabia voting against Pakistan at FATF were fake and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would issue a statement on this.

    “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong fraternal ties and the two countries have always cooperated with each other on all matters of bilateral, regional and international importance,” said the statement by the FO spokesperson.

    “Pakistan greatly values its relations with the brotherly Saudi Arabia and firmly rejects such malicious propaganda.”

    The statements come after renowned journalist, Sabir Shakir, claimed that Saudi Arabia had voted against Pakistan in the virtual plenary of the FATF.

    He had asserted that Saudi Arabia lobbied to woo the support of other Muslim countries including Turkey to move Pakistan into the blacklist of the global financial watchdog.

    FATF:

    According to Dawn, a virtual meeting of the FATF, from October 21-23, will decide if Pakistan should be excluded from its ‘grey list’, based on a review of Islamabad’s performance to meet global commitments and standards on fight against money laundering and terror financing (ML&TF).

    The FATF plenary was earlier scheduled in June but Islamabad got an unexpected breather after the global watchdog against financial crimes temporarily postponed all mutual evaluations and follow-up deadlines in the wake of grave health risk following COVID-19 pandemic. The Paris-based agency also put a general pause in the review process, thus giving additional four months to Pakistan to meet the requirements.

    The plenary had formally placed Pakistan in the grey list in June 2018 due to “strategic deficiencies” in anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) after a push from India supported by the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and some European countries.

    The FATF will examine if the country had demonstrated remedial actions and sanctions applied in cases of AML/CFT violations, relating to terrorist financing (TF) risk management and TFS (terror financing sanctions) obligations.

    The FATF will also judge if competent authorities were cooperating and taking action to identify and taking enforcement action against illegal money or value transfer services (MVTS) and had proven implementation of cross-border currency and bearer negotiable instruments (BNI) controls at all ports of entry, including applying effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

  • Pakistan breaks silence on reports claiming its army is fighting Armenia alongside Azerbaijan

    Pakistan breaks silence on reports claiming its army is fighting Armenia alongside Azerbaijan

    Pakistan has refuted “irresponsible” reports claiming that Pakistan Army is fighting alongside Azerbaijani forces against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

    According to reports, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the reports were “speculative and baseless”.

    “Pakistan is deeply concerned over the deteriorating security situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region,” Chaudhri said while reiterating Pakistan’s position on the conflict.

    The spokesperson also said that intensive shelling by Armenian forces on the civilian populations of Azerbaijan is reprehensible and most unfortunate.

    “This could compromise peace and security of the entire region. Armenia must stop its military action to avoid further escalation,” the spokesperson said.

    Chaudhri said that Pakistan supports Azerbaijan’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that the position was in line with the “several unanimously adopted United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions”.

    The statement comes as tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan forces continued to heighten despite the world’s calls for ceasefire.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a simmering conflict for decades over the region and new fighting that erupted on Sunday has been the heaviest in decades. Nearly 200 people, including 30 civilians, have died amid fears of a multi-front war that could suck in regional powers Turkey and Russia.

  • Pakistan condemns burning of Holy Quran at anti-Islam protests in Sweden, Norway

    Pakistan condemns burning of Holy Quran at anti-Islam protests in Sweden, Norway

    The Foreign Office on Sunday strongly condemned recent incidents in Sweden and Norway in which copies of the Holy Quran were reportedly burnt, saying that “freedom of speech can’t justify religious hatred”, Dawn reported.

    In a statement issued on Twitter, FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri further said:

    “The rise of such Islamophobic occurrences goes against the spirit of any religion.”

    “Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace and prosperity,” Chaudhri added.

    A day earlier, a riot broke out in the southern Swedish town of Malmo, where at least 300 people had gathered to protest against anti-Islam activities, police said.

    Protesters were throwing objects at police officers and car tyres had been set on fire, a police spokesman said. Earlier in the day, a copy of the Quran had been burned in Malmo by right-wing extremists.

    The demonstrations had escalated in the same place where the Quran had been burned, the spokesman added.

    Daily Aftonbladet said several anti-Islam activities had taken place in Malmo on Friday, including three men kicking a copy of the Quran between them in a public square.

    Meanwhile, at an anti-Islam protest on Saturday in Oslo, Sweden — held by the far-right group Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SION) — a protester tore out pages of the Quran and spat on them, Anadolu Agency reported.

  • Qureshi leaves for ‘very important’ China visit to represent Pakistan’s civil, military stance

    Qureshi leaves for ‘very important’ China visit to represent Pakistan’s civil, military stance

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has left for a two-day visit to China to attend the second round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, a statement from the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

    In a video message released before his departure, the foreign minister said he was going on a “very important trip to China” and that he had a discussion with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan before leaving.

    “I am leaving on a very important visit to China. I had a discussion with the prime minister regarding this visit yesterday. My delegation will represent the stance of the political and military leadership of the country. I am hopeful that my meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi will prove to be beneficial for both countries,” Qureshi said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Qureshi, who is accompanied by senior officials, will visit China’s Hainan province where he will lead the Pakistani delegation in the dialogue, the FO statement added. He is scheduled to return tomorrow (Aug 21).

    State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will lead the Chinese side during the dialogue, according to the statement.

    “During the dialogue, both sides will discuss cooperation on COVID-19, bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the FO said.

    “The visit will play an important role in further strengthening Pakistan-China ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’ and deepen strategic communication and coordination with China on a range of issues.”

    The first round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue took place in March 2019 in which both sides vowed to protect the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from “all kinds of threats”.

    Reports emerging on Wednesday suggested the foreign minister will “hold meetings with his Chinese counterpart and senior leadership while important decisions will be taken regarding the visit of the Chinese president to Pakistan.”

    He was also expected to call upon Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip.

    The trip comes after PM Imran, earlier this week, said it should be clear that Islamabad’s future is tied to Beijing which has stood by Pakistan through thick and thin.

    Speaking to senior journalist Kamran Khan during a wide-ranging interview, he said that both countries recognised each other’s importance and were further strengthening mutual ties. “Unfortunately, western countries are using India against China,” he added.

    The premier also said that Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to visit Pakistan in May this year but his visit was delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. “His visit is now expected towards the end of the year.”

  • ‘Nawaz Sharif as PM barred Foreign Office from speaking against India,’ ex-diplomat claims

    ‘Nawaz Sharif as PM barred Foreign Office from speaking against India,’ ex-diplomat claims

    Former spokesperson for the Foreign Office (FO) Tasneem Aslam has claimed that former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had barred the FO from commenting against India and its spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is currently in Pakistan’s custody.

    “Nawaz Sharif did not want to say anything against India and Jadhav through the Foreign Office,” she claimed during an interview with a YouTube channel being run by journalist Isa Naqvi.

    When asked if Nawaz’s instruction benefited the country, Tasneem, who worked as FO spokesperson twice — from 2005 to 2007 under military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf and during the last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government between 2013 and 2017, said it “did not benefit the country” but she did not know “whether it benefited Nawaz’s own interests or not”.

    She said Nawaz had business interests in India and he did not meet Muslim leaders of India-held Kashmir when he visited India as the premier. “Usually, every PM of Pakistan meets Hurriyat leaders but Nawaz Sharif did not meet them when he visited India.”

    Nawaz had visited India in 2014. Aslam further said even in his speech at the United Nations (UN) summit, Nawaz did not talk about India and Jadhav but on the Kashmir issue.

    Meanwhile, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb told Dawn that the comments by a retired FO official bore no resemblance to reality. “It is a false and biased expression of an individual’s views, based on her personal predilections.”

    Recalling efforts made by Nawaz to resolve the Kashmir dispute, she said that “the principled manner in which he dealt with the issue of Pakistan’s relations with its eastern neighbour was well documented”.

    Marriyum added that the former premier’s address to the UN General Assembly in 2016 contained the most forceful references ever to the issue of Kashmir and the most powerful condemnation of the atrocities and brutalities of the Indian occupation forces.

    The former diplomat’s statements have not been very well-received by Twitterati either.

    What do you think of Tasneem’s statement? Let The Current know in the comments.

  • Coronavirus: Pak-China trade suspended, Opp demands bringing students back

    Coronavirus: Pak-China trade suspended, Opp demands bringing students back

    With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a global emergency over the spreading coronavirus, as Chinese authorities increase the toll to 213 dead and nearly 10,000 infections, trade between Pakistan and China has been suspended while opposition demands bringing back Pakistanis stuck in China.

    According to reports, while it was also decided that all Chinese imports will be sprayed with disinfectants, Pakistan on Friday suspended flight operations — except those of Pakistan Internation Airlines (PIA) — to the neighbouring country.

    TRADE SUSPENDED:

    According to a statement, trade has been suspended between the two countries for at least a month, while the issuance of Chinese visas to traders has also been halted.

    The volume of trade between the two countries is around $15 billion — around 30 per cent of Pakistan’s total trade — and the country is now mulling to import goods from other countries instead, a report said.

    Also, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will quarantine the Chinese and Southeast Asian ship personnel, its chairperson, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, said. He added the containers, especially those arriving from China and Southeast Asia, would be thoroughly checked, and that special care would be taken to ensure that the staff on these ships remained limited to the port only.

    NO FLIGHTS TO OR FROM CHINA:

    “We are suspending flights to China until February 2,” Aviation Additional Secretary Abdul Sattar Khokhar told Reuters, adding the situation would be reviewed after that date. He declined to comment on the reason for the closure.

    Some airlines, including British Airways, have suspended flights to China due to warnings of the coronavirus outbreak. Germany, Britain and other countries have issued warnings about travel to China.

    Russia also sealed its remote far-eastern border with China as a precaution on Thursday. Some countries have banned entry for travellers from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus first surfaced, while reports said that PIA would continue to operate between the two countries.

    OPPOSITION WANTS STUDENTS RESCUED:

    Meanwhile, opposition leaders have demanded that the government take responsibility of the Pakistani students stuck in China, and bring them back to the country.

    Reports quoted Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Usman Kakar as saying in the Senate that over 28,000 Pakistanis, 10,000 of which are students, were stuck in China, and the government’s decision to not bring them back was no less than “attempted murder”.

    While Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mushahidullah said that the government should take responsibility of the students stranded in China, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Rehman Malik said that military’s C-130 aircraft should be sent to rescue them

    ‘WE’RE MONITORING SITUATION’:

    The Pakistani government is monitoring the situation in China and is in close contact with the relevant authorities in order to ensure the safety of Pakistani students in Wuhan, said the Foreign Office on the other hand. 

    “Islamabad has taken up the issue of food shortages with concerned officials and we are assured by the Chinese government of full cooperation in this regard,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Aaisha Farooqui said at a press briefing.

    In response to questions about the evacuation of Pakistani citizens from Wuhan, the spokesperson said, “Islamabad is monitoring the evolving situation and will take a decision after consultations among all the stakeholders.”