- Shafqat Ali Khan denied reports of accession saying that Pakistan recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.
Islamabad: Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Thursday rejected reports of annexation of Wakhan Corridor, saying it is part of Afghanistan.
“I have seen this endless speculation. Wakhan is part of Afghan territory. Afghanistan is a neighboring country. We recognize its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the newly appointed spokesman said at his first weekly press briefing on Thursday. said
The Foreign Office spokesperson dismissed the reports of annexation of Wakhan Corridor saying that it is part of Afghanistan.
“There is no question of Pakistan having designs on any of its neighbours. I find it speculative and factually wrong.”
The Wakhan Corridor is a thin, mountainous belt in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province that stretches to a relatively small border with China’s Xinjiang province. It also separates Tajikistan from the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.
The spokesman added that the two countries understand the importance of relations and want to foster good relations, but he reiterated that “the main issue is terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil.”
He said the two countries were in touch “through ongoing multilateral engagement” on the issue.
On the Gaza ceasefire
On the Gaza ceasefire, the FO spokesman called for its immediate and full implementation, adding that he hoped the ceasefire would “lead to a permanent ceasefire and help increase humanitarian aid”. .
A day earlier, US and Qatari leaders announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza – starting on Sunday – and an exchange of hostages and prisoners, after 15 months of fighting.
“The indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli occupation forces has caused unprecedented loss of life and property and displaced millions of innocent Palestinians,” the spokesman remarked.
He “reiterated the country’s support for a just, comprehensive and sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state”.
In response to a question, the spokesperson said that Pakistan will work to send more humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza after the aid is moved back to the area after the cease-fire.
Racist rhetoric against Pakistanis in UK on Trump’s inauguration
Additionally, Khan said that “Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington will attend the swearing-in ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump, and the invitation to Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has not been extended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. .
Additionally, the spokesperson expressed “deep concern at the growing racist and Islamophobic political and media commentary in the UK which aims to conflate the reprehensible actions of a few individuals with the entire 1.7 million British Pakistanis.”
Pakistan-China relations
On the positive developments, he said that China and Pakistan have deepened the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership in the fourth round of China-Pakistan Bilateral Political Consultation (BPC) and the fifth session of the Joint Working Group of International Cooperation and CPEC. He reiterated his commitment. Coordination (JWG-ICC) was held in Beijing.
He said both countries were satisfied with the “positive momentum” of their relations.
