Intervention unacceptable, says FO
ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: Pakistan on Wednesday declared that it would not allow any direct foreign military intervention inside its territory in the context of war on terror and dispelled the notion that there was any clandestine understanding on this count with the US.
“We have a very clear policy that foreign intervention inside Pakistan is unacceptable,”
Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Sadiq told a weekly news briefing here on Wednesday.
“Any action inside Pakistan’s territory will be taken by our armed forces and we will not allow any other country to take military action inside Pakistan. There is no secret understanding or deal on deviation from this policy,” he categorically stated.
He said this in response to a question regarding President Bush’s recent statement that if the US had concrete information about Osama Bin Laden’s presence inside Pakistan, it would carry out direct intervention inside the country.
FS TALKS: He said no dates have yet been proposed for the foreign secretary level talks for the review meeting of the 4th round of the composite dialogue.
He noted that the meeting was expected to take place early next year.
Replying to a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan and India had moved forward on the issue of prisoners’ repatriation.
On the liberalisation of visa regime he said talks were continuing and added: “But we have no announcements at this stage.”
NIE REPORT: The spokesperson was evasive on the question of the latest US NIE report which revealed that Iran had abandoned its nuclear programme in 2003 as he was on the question of the US intelligence reports implicating Pakistani scientists in aiding the Iranian programme.
“The so-called intelligence assessments that are published in the media should not be given much credence. They at times contradict their own earlier findings. Pakistan has not aided any country in their nuclear programme,” he said.
Asked if Pakistan believed in the veracity of the NIE report he remained non-committal and said: “I can’t say anything on it. I do not know what is it based on and I cannot comment on the intelligence assessment that is reported in the media.”
DEPORTATION: On the deportation of 72 Pakistanis by the US authorities on Wednesday he said: “They were in different US prisons for various crimes but mostly immigration related violations. The options were to let them languish in jails or bring them back to Pakistan: It was decided to bring them back.”