ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday said that Pakistan had invited the Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting being held in Islamabad.
Pakistan is set to host the SCO heads of government meeting on October 15 -16. The event will be preceded by a ministerial meeting and several rounds of senior officials’ meetings focused on financial, economic, socio-cultural, and humanitarian cooperation among the SCO member states.
During a weekly press briefing, the Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed the country had sent invitations to the heads of countries to participate in the meeting.
“An invitation has also been sent to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,” she said, adding that some countries had already confirmed their participation in the meeting.
“It will be informed in due course which country has confirmed,” she added.
When asked about ties with India, the spokesperson said, “Pakistan does not have direct bilateral trade with India.”
Illegal appointments case: former VC PU Dr Mujahid Kamran acquitted
Moreover, the spokesperson said that Pakistan’s foreign secretary was at the 50th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held in Cameroon’s Yaoundé from August 29 to 30.
“The foreign secretary will present Pakistan’s perspective on Gaza and Jammu and Kashmir there,” she said, adding that he will also discuss “terrorism and other global issues” during the session.
Baloch added that “Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s bombing of a historic mosque in Khan Younis”.
Responding to a question, the Spokesperson said Pakistan has no plans to engage in any talks with the TTP.
She said the presence of terror groups including the TTP in Afghanistan is confirmed by multiple international reports including the United Nations.
She said we expect the Afghan authorities to take robust action against these terror groups and prevent their activities that endanger Pakistan’s security.
When asked about China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Spokesperson said it is a transformational project that has contributed positively and transparently to Pakistan’s national development. She said the corridor project enjoys support and popularity in all provinces and across the political divide in Pakistan.
She clarified that Pakistan’s total public debt relating to CPEC projects is a small percentage of its total debt. Moreover, she said, the public debt obtained from China has longer maturity periods with low interest rates.
The Spokesperson reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to provide full security to all Chinese nationals, projects and institutions.