ISLAMABAD, Aug 9: Pakistan has protested to the United States over an FBI sting operation involving a fake plot to kill Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, describing it as a bizarre mission.
The FBI set up the operation to try to trap Mohammed Hossain, founder of a mosque in New York, and its prayer leader Yassin Aref. It involved money laundering, a shoulder-fired missile and the fake murder plot.
In his weekly press briefing on Monday, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said it was a bizarre move that could have endangered the life of the ambassador, Mr Muneer Akram.
"It is mind-boggling why they could not use the name of an American functionary," the spokesman said. "We have made a demarche to the US embassy here. We hope that the US will realise its mistake and give instructions for rectifying this faulty methodology," Mr Khan said.
"This has increased our ambassador's and our mission's vulnerability. This technique and methodology is tantamount to auto suggestion and could have endangered the life of our ambassador," Mr Khan added.
COMPOSITE TALKS: About Pakistan-India composite talks, Mr Khan said Islamabad wanted to settle all outstanding issues with India within a "reasonable time frame" to the satisfaction of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the two countries.
He said Pakistan and India had to work to arrive at a meaningful solution, within a reasonable time - which is acceptable to both the sides. "The two countries needed patience, diplomacy and repertoire ... (as) there is no silver bullet or instant solution."
He said there could not be a compressed timetable pressed by one side as some issues like Kashmir needed to be settled on priority. To a question, Mr Khan said the history of talks between Pakistan and India had been discouraging and had its highs and lows. However, he said, the current phase of talks was result-oriented and that was why the question of time-frame came in.
Mr Khan rejected an impression that any pre-conditions had been set for the talks but saying that President Musharraf had pointed towards the expectations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and India in a recent interview with Dawn. The people, he said, wanted the problems fixed and a solution to the issue.
Mr Khan said the president in his interview did not mention a deadline, rather he had called for a reasonable time frame, within which progress was made. "We cannot continue discussions ad infinitum," he added.
"There has to be a sunset clause as human rights violations continue in the occupied Kashmir," the spokesman said. When asked about the agenda for talks on terrorism between Pakistan and India, he said both the countries should exploit the possibility to remove irritants and try to resolve the issues confronting them.
He said the two sides would not get into the definition of terrorism as the positions of both the sides were well known, adding that there must be differentiation between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.
In reply to a question about attempts by some US lawmakers to present a bill in Congress with a bearing on Pakistan's efforts to refine its nuclear programme, the spokesman said the proposed legislation was under study in Islamabad and the government would like to work with the US administration to abort it which had apparently been floated by an anti-Pakistan lobby.
According to US press reports, the legislation would require the US President to give an all-clear certificate to the Congress before seeking aid for Pakistan.
About the war on terror, the spokesman said Islamabad's war on terror was aimed at eliminating extremists and terrorists from its soil and it was not being done under any foreign pressure.
JAPANESE FM'S VISIT: Earlier, in his opening statement, the spokesman said Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi would visit Pakistan from Aug 10 to 12, adds Arshad Sharif.
Mr Khan said Ms Kawaguchi would hold talks with Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and call on the president and the prime minister. During her visit, he said, the two sides would discuss bilateral political, economic and commercial relations between the two countries and review the regional situation as well as non-proliferation.
A separate Press release issued by the Japanese Embassy on Monday said that wide-ranging bilateral relations, counter-terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation and regional issues would come under discussion during the visit.
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