Drone strike in Balochistan was violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty : Tariq Fatemi

Lahore: Describing the May 21 drone strike in Balochistan as “illegal” and violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi on Tuesday said it also had a negative impact on the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Speaking in a PTV programme Nuqta-e-Nazr, Tariq Fatemi
said Pakistan has already registered its strong protest with the United States over the strike – in which Taliban chief Mullah Mansoor was killed – and conveyed that it would not tolerate such unilateral actions.

He said the drone strike has also put a question mark on the United States’ intentions about peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Tariq Fatemi said after the drone strike, US Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office to convey Pakistan’s concern over the strike. He said it was astonishing that despite the fact that
the US Representative attended the meeting of Quadrilateral
Coordination Committee (QCC) on May 18, which was pushing the
peace process in Afghanistan, a bilateral drone strike was
carried out on May 21, which damaged the peace efforts.

He said Pakistan believed that dialogue was the only
option to ensure peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, as
peace in Afghanistan was also vital for peace in the region.

Tariq Fatemi mentioned the immense sacrifices given by
Pakistan in the war against terrorism and said Pakistan was
the only country in the world that had deployed around 200,000
troops in the Operation Zarb-e-Azb aimed at eliminating
terrorism and terrorists from its soil.

To a question, he said, Pakistan was also firm on better
and effective border management with Afghanistan and had taken
various steps in this respect, which would bring positive
results in the near future.

About the Indian bid for membership of the Nuclear
Supplier Group (NSG), Tariq Fatemi said, the objective of non-
proliferation cannot be negated with discriminatory approaches
in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He said as the NSG was created in reaction to the Indian nuclear tests, now offering NSG membership to India would give a negative signal on proliferation.
“Our candidature should also be considered,” he maintained.

To a question about Iran-India cooperation in Chahbahar, Tariq Fatemi said Pakistan with a two million population and
having linkages with Central Asian States and Gulf, was a
strong country and there was no need to worry.

He said Pakistan has historic relations with Iran as
well, adding, this region had a lot of economic potential. “We
have enough to get fair share,” he remarked.

Tariq Fatemi also mentioned the presence of three
million Afghan refugees on Pakistani soil and urged the
international community to help in repatriation and re-
settlement of these refugees by creating opportunities in
Afghanistan.
He also mentioned that out of the three million Afghan
refugees, only 1.5 million were registered, adding, the
Ministry of Interior was taking necessary measures to ensure
the registration of remaining refugees.

To a question about Pak-India relations and the
capturing of Indian RAW officer Kulbhushan Yadev in
Balochistan, Tariq Fatemi said Pakistan and India should have
a sustained dialogue process to address all issues.

He said the two countries were facing the issues such as
poverty illiteracy etc. and these can only be addressed with
the dialogue process.

Tariq Fatemi, however, added that “we are not seeking
dialogue” as it was India which have to fulfil its promises
and commitment over the dialogue.
To a question about Kulbhushan Yadev, the Special
Assistant said as he (Yadev) is a serving Indian Navy officer,
Pakistan has also sensitized its friendly countries as well as
major powers on this issue.