Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit while responding to queries of media persons during the weekly press briefing said that Islamabad has made demarches to the relevant countries about the activities of the estranged Baloch leaders who have taken refuge there.
"We have been assured by them that their territories will not be allowed to be used against Pakistan," he said, adding that a demarche was made with Swiss Embassy in Islamabad in this regard last week. About the situation in Balochistan, he said it was Pakistan's internal matter and would be dealt in accordance with the constitution and our own preferences, adding that the government was trying to handle the situation in the province politically.
Basit said the Foreign Office and Pakistan's missions abroad were engaged actively to ensure that Balochistan issue was not portrayed in any other context by the detractors. "We are cognizant of the developments in the province and necessary steps have also been taken," he said.
To a question, the spokesman said the United States had made request years ago for opening a consulate in Balochistan, but no decision had yet been taken by the government. To another query, he made it clear that there was no question of freezing or putting the core issue of Kashmir on back burner in pursuit of normalisation of relations with India. "The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is about the people of Kashmir; it is about their inalienable right to self-determination. There is, therefore, no question of freezing this issue or putting it on the backburner--realistically speaking, nor it can be done," he added.
He said Pakistan was taking steps to normalise relations with India but reaching the final destination will inevitably subject to realisation of the aspirations of Kashmiri people. He said Kashmiris have given innumerable sacrifices in their just struggle for right to self determination and settlement of the issue in accordance with the UN resolutions is essential for viable peace in the region.
Referring to the human rights violations in the occupied territory, he said the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has recently urged India to repeal all black laws including Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act. When asked about the Siachen issue, the spokesman said Pakistan seeks early resolution of the problem like all the other issues including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the issue has been raised in the resumed dialogue process with India.
About the track-II diplomacy on Pak-India relations, Basit expressed his ignorance of any such discussions, saying the debates, if any, are in the private realm and not part of any government policy. About the US- Iran tension, the spokesman said that primarily, Pakistan optimism stems from the fact that all the actors involved are rational and they would not like to see this region being plunged into another conflict.
Referring to the statement of US President Obama that there is a "window of opportunity" for diplomacy, the spokesman said that there was a desire by all stakeholders to resolve the issue peacefully. "We would like to hope that all concerned parties would exercise utmost restraint and avoid escalatory steps," he remarked adding that Islamabad will continue to encourage all the parties to resolve differences through dialogue.
About the reported visit of US General James Mattis to Pakistan, the spokesman said no date of the visit has yet been decided. Regarding the unrest in Syria, the spokesman said we want this issue to be resolved through dialogue and believe Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty should be preserved in the whole process.
When asked to comment on the statement of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Hasina Wajid, who has alleged that Khalida Zia had received money from ISI during the elections there in the 1990s, the spokesman refused to comment saying he would refrain to say anything beyond that it is part of their national politics. "So it is better not to comment on that," he added.