Pakistan expressed hope on Tuesday night that the issue of an Indian woman diplomat being arrested on charges of spying for the Inter-Services-Intelligence would not overshadow the expected meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Thimphu.
Pakistan has not received any "solid evidence" against outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed from India so far, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday, as New Delhi presented a fresh dossier on the26/11 carnage to Islamabad.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who arrived in New Delhi on Friday, on a three-day visit, cut short his trip and returned home tonight by an Indian Air Force plane because of death of his mother-in-law.
Contradicting himself and his own cabinet colleague, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India's most wanted criminals, has not been arrested and is 'still at large'. Qureshi's remarks came barely an hour-and-half after he accepted the detention of Azhar while speaking to Dawn News channel a little after 9 pm on Wednesday.
"The arrests being made are for our own investigations. Even if allegations are proved against any suspect he will not be handed over to India," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in Islamabad
Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik has met Home Minister P Chidambaram and is understood to have discussed aspects related to the Mumbai terror attacks.
President Asif Ali Zardari today conferred one of Pakistan's highest civilian honours on US Vice President-elect Joseph Biden in recognition of his "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development" in the country.
Insisting that "war is not an option" in the region, Pakistan today said it is committed to resuming the dialogue process with India as talks are the only way forward to improve the bilateral ties.
The Pakistan government might have accepted India's offer for flood aid, but Pakistanis on Saturday appeared sharply divided over the issue, with critics claiming that the acceptance came on United States' call. "The government has accepted India's aid offer on US' call," said Senator Raja Zafar ul Haq, chairman of Muslim League - Nawaz. "It was earlier reported in the media but the foreign minister made it public on Friday," he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has agreed to Pakistan's request to constitute an independent commission to inquire into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Notwithstanding India's insistence on action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan was non-committal on action against the mastermind of Mumbai attacks and several other terror strikes in India. "Same old beaten track," said Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi when asked for his response to India's repeated demand that action should be taken against Saeed in connection with Mumbai attacks.
Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke on Tuesday said that the Obama administration would soon announce a range of actions for Pakistan in the field of water, energy and security.
Responding to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's invitation to visit India, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has made it clear that he would accept it if the talks are to be "result-oriented", covering all issues of importance, including Kashmir. He stressed the need for "positive and constructive approach" after his July 15 talks with Krishna ended on a bitter note, particularly on Kashmir and terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Pakistan on Wednesday accused India of not responding positively to its efforts to restart the dialogue process and contended that it would go the "extra mile" if New Delhi takes steps in this regard.
Noting that Pakistan had done nothing on the 26/11 case, former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra on Tuesday said the government had made a "serious mistake" by holding talks and these were "bound to fail".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday regretted that Home Secretary G K Pillai was not 'defended' by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna when he was 'openly castigated' by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for his remarks that the Inter Services Intelligence had coordinated the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The Pakistan government has trashed former president Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula to resolve Kashmir issue, saying it was "his thinking" which did not have the endorsement of Pakistan Parliament or Cabinet and suggested a fresh approach to address the vexed problem.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is set to embark on his second visit to the US in less than a week to convey Pakistan's concerns on conditions linked to US $ 7.5 billion in aid to be provided to it over under the aegis of the Kerry-Lugar Bill a period of five years under a bill passed by American Congress.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday took stock of the country's probe into the Mumbai terror attacks ahead of a crucial meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Egypt this week.
Pakistan agreed to a change in the format for future talks with India in return for New Delhi's consent to resume broad-based engagement with it, diplomatic sources said on Friday.
In an apparent bid to drive a wedge between Indian government and the ruling party, Pakistan has said that "well-meaning" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was keen to normalise ties with it but "elements in Congress" did not support him.
"We are opposed to nuclear proliferation as well as an arms race in the region," he said, adding that Pakistan believes the launch of the Indian nuclear-powered submarine will affect strategic stability.
The Indian government has not yet been formally asked to start supplying the aid and the Foreign Office spokesman said the matter is still being discussed. "We are working on it and the decision will soon be made public," spokesman Abdul Basit said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting later this month, effectively ruling out the possibility of talks with his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the summit. Pakistan will be represented by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the meeting to be held at Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago during November 27-29, official sources told PTI.
As the international apprehensions grew over the release of rouge atomic scientist A Q Khan, Pakistan on Saturday defended setting him free, saying his clandestine nuclear proliferation network had been "dismantled." "A Q Khan is history," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, claiming that the Pakistan authorities had broken his nuclear smuggling network and extracted all the information from him.
Pakistan today asked India to share information and evidence on the Mumbai terrorist attacks, saying its probe into the incident could not proceed unless there is "sustained and pragmatic cooperation" between the two countries.
Krishna was with Dr Singh for about 30 minutes during which he gave a detailed account of his talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
Pakistan on Friday sought to assuage Afghanistan's concern over the former's talks with local tribal leaders, stating that the country has not been negligent of its obligation towards peace and stability in Afghanistan.Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who made a day-long visit to Kabul, said his country has not forgone the military option while pursing talks with the Taliban, aimed at ending militancy in the northwestern tribal areas.
"What bewilders me is the lack of realisation that durable peace in South Asia will remain elusive without a just solution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at an Asia Society meeting in New York on Friday.
Pakistan has said it is ready to take action against Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed but added that India should give 'concrete evidence' that stands 'legal scrutiny' and holds him responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi insisted that his country was committed to bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice but could not give any specific time-frame for conclusion of the trial in the case as the judiciary acted independently
The investigation into the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto could cost Pakistan up to $100 million and take up to 14 months to complete, a media report said on Wednesday.Pakistan has assured the United Nations that it will provide all the money needed to investigate the assassination of Bhutto. The assurance was given by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a meeting with UN officials. Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack after an election rally.
Amid differences with America on the issue of drone attacks against high-value terrorist targets on it soil, Pakistan on Tuesday said it would not give any "blank cheques" to the United States and not accept foreign troops in its territory in the ongoing war to root out the Al-Qaeda and Taliban.
As Washington tries to find its way out of Afghanistan, Pakistan has emerged as the central player dictating the terms of this emerging endgame in South Asia, notes Harsh Pant.
Government sources said the hawkish elements in Pakistan, which do not want dialogue between the two countries, were upset when the talks between the Home Ministers and Home Secretaries went off well last month.
Terrorists targeted Pakistan's powerful Inter State Intelligence for the second time in less than a month on Tuesday, as suicide bombers struck its office in eastern Multan city detonating their vehicle packed with up to 1,000 kg of explosives, killing at least 12 people and injuring 47 others.
Kerry, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who last week stood side-by-side with Qureshi and declared there are no conditions attached to the aid and that the bill in no way impinges on Pakistan's sovereignty, reiterated these assertions and also out a lengthy fact sheet which he said, separates "myth from fact on the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009."
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said he is not expecting any "major breakthrough" in the upcoming meeting with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna though his country continues to be hopeful that bilateral relations will improve.
Pakistan on Saturday said India appears to be "hesitating" over the resumption of the stalled peace process due to its "internal political situation" and insisted that dialogue is the only way forward for the two countries.
Pakistan has welcomed India's decision to withdraw troops from some areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan on Tuesday asked India to send 'positive signals' by deactivating its forward air bases and relocating ground troops to peace time positions, saying it is ready to cooperate in probing Mumbai attacks and bringing perpetrators of the crime to justice. Similarly, he proposed that ground forces, which have been deployed to the forward posts, should be relocated to peace time positions.
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