ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office spokesperson lost patience on Thursday with critics of what is being perceived as a shift in Syria policy and derided them as foreign policy novices.

“Pakistan’s position on Syria has been explained ad nauseam. If still there is no understanding, I would say the criticism, in the first place, is motivated or there will be questions about the intelligence level of those who are indulging in this debate,” FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said at the weekly media briefing.

Continuing her tirade against the Syria policy critics, she said: “People who have no understanding about how foreign policy is made and how countries interact and engage with each other will say something like that. Bottom line is that foreign policy represents your national interests.”

The joint communiqué issued after the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdel Aziz calling for setting up a transitional government in Syria was seen as a policy shift because the official position of the government on the Syrian crisis had all along been an anodyne one, which had been calling for addressing the humanitarian situation in the conflict-ridden country and finding a political solution to the problem through internal dynamics.

In a recent statement in parliament, Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz had denied a pro-rebel tilt in the new policy on Saudi prodding and said it was consistent with the longstanding Pakistani stance of non-interference in other countries’ affairs.

But the parliamentarians remained unconvinced.

Technicalities in the phraseology of the part of the communiqué on Syria being mentioned by Pakistani officials in their defence against allegations of a sell-out on Syria notwithstanding, the criticism thrives primarily because the position was announced on the occasion of a high-level visit from Saudi Arabia which has been a staunch supporter of rebellion in the East Mediterranean country.

FO’s frustration with the criticism, which normally does not get reflected in public pronouncements, was evident from the response to another question about Syria. “If my assurances were to satiate this unending desire to speculate, it would have happened,” Ms Aslam said.

She, however, took pains to reject a media report that Pakistan considered providing arms to rebels through Saudi Arabia.

The AFP news agency had claimed that Saudi Arabia was pushing Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft missile Anza and anti-tank rockets “to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad”.

The spokesperson read out the principles being followed by Pakistan in exporting military hardware. Importantly, she said, defence deals normally had “end-users certificate which ensures that our weapons are not resold or provided to a third country”. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are negotiating a defence deal under which the government is expecting to get a major military hardware supply order from Riyadh.

IRAN: Answering a question about an Iranian statement that sanctions were not a plausible excuse for seeking extension in timeframe for completion of the troubled IP gas project, Ms Aslam said Iran’s backtracking on the pledge for partially financing the project forced Pakistan to seek renegotiation on the project timeline.

“There were many elements of that agreement, including the provision of some credit line. Iran informed us some time back that because of the sanctions they would not be able to provide that. Since sanctions are in place, no other company or consortium has evinced interest in getting involved in this project. That’s why we have said that timeline will be looked at again,” she said.