Pakistan in contact with US over energy requirements, says FO

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday said Pakistan was in contact with the United States regarding the country’s requirements for energy.

Addressing her weekly media briefing in Islamabad, the spokesperson said she had seen the US’s statement on Pakistan’s willingness to get energy from Iran.

Earlier this week, a State Department spokesperson had warned Islamabad regarding “potential risk of sanctions” following the Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Pakistan.

“We advise anyone considering business deals with Iran to be aware of the potential risk of sanctions,’ the spokesperson said.

Baloch, on the other hand, maintained that cooperation for trade on preferential basis was present between Pakistan and Iran to fulfil the former’s crucial necessities.

She said during President Raisi’s three-day visit, the matter of Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline was discussed and it was also reflected in the joint statement later. Both countries cogitated about energy and electricity trade, she added.

She said Pakistan discussed the trade route between Gwadar and Chabahar ports with the Iranian president. She said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran were robust.

As for Israel’s atrocities in Palestine, Baloch said Pakistan rapped Israel’s atrocities and demanded international investigation. She said Pakistan and Iran had the same stance on the issue of Gaza and Kashmir.

PM SHEHBAZ TO ATTEND WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM MEETING IN RIYADH

During the presser, Baloch also informed journalists that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be attending the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 28 to 29.

The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to participate in the high-level forum where they will present Pakistan’s priorities specifically in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalising regional collaboration and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.

On the margins of the main event, both the premier and Dar will also hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, heads of international organisations bodies and other leading personalities participating in the event.

INDIA’S PROVOCATIVE STATEMENTS

The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday said that there had been an “alarming surge in provocative statements from Indian leaders asserting unwarranted claims over Azad Jammu and Kashmir”, adding that Pakistan rejected such claims.

The remarks by the FO spokesperson did not mention any specific statement by an Indian leader.

Addressing a weekly press briefing in Islamabad today, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “We are witnessing an alarming surge in provocative statements from Indian leaders asserting unwarranted claims on AJK. Pakistan rejects these claims.

“Fuelled by hyper-nationalism, this inflammatory rhetoric poses a grave threat to regional peace and susceptibility,” she added, urging “Indian politicians to cease their reckless practice of dragging Pakistan into India’s populist public discourse for electoral motives”.

“Historical and legal facts as well as ground realities refute India’s baseless claims over AJK. Despite India’s rhetoric and assertions, Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognised disputed territory,” the spokesperson asserted.

Zahra noted that the UN Security Council resolutions on the region “clearly outline that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir shall be determined by the will of the people through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices”.

“India would be wise to help implement these resolutions instead of harbouring delusions of grandeur,” the FO spokesperson stressed.

Read more: No dent in Pak-US relations, clarifies State Dept