PM to participate in KL Summit in Malaysia: FO

ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP):Prime Minister Imran Khan on the invitation of his Malaysian counterpart Dr Mahathir Mohammad will participate in the Kuala Lumpur Summit on December 18-20, the Foreign Office said Friday.

“The summit will provide Pakistan an opportunity to explain views and find solutions to the challenges facing the Muslim world particularly governance, development, terrorism and Islamophobia,” Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal said at a weekly press briefing.

The summit is an initiative of Dr Mahathir to gather five Muslim nation namely Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar and the host Malaysia to foster cooperation to achieve socioeconomic development.

The spokesman said earlier, the prime minister would also visit Geneva on December 17-18 to co-convene the first Global Refugees Forum in December in recognition of Pakistan’s generosity, hospitality and compassion for hosting the Afghan refugees for over four decades.

He said several heads of states were expected to join Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Global Refugees Forum, the first major meeting on refugees in 21st century, which would be jointly hosted by UNHCR, UN Refugees Agency and the Swiss government.

On situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJ&K), the spokesman urged the international community to allow independent media to observe sufferings of Kashmiri people who faced curfew and communication blackout for over four months.

He rejected the impression that intensity of Pakistan’s protest over India’s unilateral decision on IoJ&K had reduced with time, saying that “the issue remained a foremost priority”. “The issue of Kashmir is beyond media projection. A slump in media does not mean a change in the country’s policy on Kashmir,” he added.

The FO spokesman said Pakistan would soon send delegations to other countries to highlight its point of view on Kashmir. Dr Faisal said Pakistan welcomed resumption of talks between the United States and Taliban, hoping the process would lead to intra-Afghan dialogue and ultimately to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

“Pakistan maintains that there is no military solution to the conflict and encourages all parties to engage constructively as a shared responsibility,” he said.

The spokesman categorically rejected biased remarks in a joint statement recently issued by India and Japan after a recent foreign and defence ministerial dialogue and said Japan was well-aware of how much Pakistan suffered and sacrificed against terrorism.

He mentioned that Pakistan’s anti-terrorism efforts were recognized by the then Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, now defence minister, during his visit to Pakistan in January 2018. He said Pakistan registered a strong disappointment with Japan through diplomatic channels in view of the cordial relation between the two countries free from historical baggage.

About progress in case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav following the verdict of International Court of Justice (ICJ, he said an update would soon be shared.