Wakhan Corridor part of Afghanistan; annexation reports “speculative and erroneous”: FO spox

ISLAMABAD, Jan 16 (APP/DNA):Pakistan on Thursday categorically rejected the reports of any annexation of Wakhan Corridor, calling it a part of neighboring Afghanistan; however, it reiterated the call for the Afghan government to act against the terrorist groups enjoying sanctuaries across the border.

“I have seen this endless speculation. Wakhan is part of Afghan territory. Afghanistan is a neighboring country. We recognize its sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is no question of Pakistan having designs on one of its neighbors. I deem it speculative and totally erroneous actually,” the newly appointed Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in his maiden weekly press briefing.

He said that both Pakistan and Afghanistan understood the importance of relations and wanted to nurture good ties but the key problem was the terrorists’ sanctuaries on Afghan soil.

He said both countries were in contact on the matter through an ongoing multilayered engagement.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan welcomed the Gaza ceasefire, reached on Wednesday and called for its immediate and full implementation. It is hoped that the truce would lead to a permanent ceasefire and help in scaling up humanitarian assistance.

“Indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupation forces has caused unprecedented loss of lives and property and displacements of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian Palestinians. Israel’s expansionist designs have destabilised the entire region,” he remarked.

He also reiterated Pakistan’s support for a just, comprehensive, and durable solution to the Palestinian issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The spokesperson expressed deep concern over the increasingly racist and Islamophobic political and media commentary in the UK aimed at conflating the reprehensible actions of a few individuals with the entire 1.7 million British Pakistani diaspora.

Strongly rejecting the “baseless” accusations and “unfounded” assertions made by India’s Defence Minister and Chief of Army Staff on January 13 and 14, he said Jammu and Kashmir remained an internationally recognized disputed territory, whose final status was to be determined in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

“In this context, India has no legal or moral grounds to assert fictitious claims over the territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.”

The spokesperson referred to the hosting of the international conference on girls’ education in Islamabad last week attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif; Secretary General OIC Hissein Brahim Taha; Muslim World League Secretary General and Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, besides high-level officials, ministers and dignitaries from a number of other Islamic countries.

He said that the Islamabad Declaration, adopted by the moot, “underscored girls’ education as a fundamental right protected by divine laws, Islamic teachings, and international charters and further emphasized aligning education with Islamic principles, national priorities, and global advancements, aiming to empower women and foster stable and peaceful communities.”

He told the media that at the Fourth Round of Pakistan-China Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and the Fifth meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) held in Beijing, the two sides noted with satisfaction the positive trajectory of Pakistan-China relations and reaffirmed the commitment to further deepen the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

They underscored the need to reinforce their mutual coordination at the multilateral forums, including at the United Nations Security Council, and exchanged views on a range of regional and international issues.

To a question, he said that Pakistan would work to send more humanitarian convoys to Gaza once the relief aid starts moving into the territory, following the ceasefire deal.

He told the media that Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington would attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, and the reported invite to Pakistan Peoples of Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto was not routed through the foreign ministry.