Comments on Aafia reported ‘out of context’: Dr Faisal

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal has clarified that his statements regarding Dr Aafia Siddiqui had been “reported out of the context”.

The spokesman reportedly told an international news outlet that Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist jailed in the US for almost a decade, did not want to return to Pakistan.In his weekly media briefing on Thursday, Dr Faisal said steps were under way to bring Siddiqui back home and the matter of her return was continuously being raised with Washington. “We are in touch with Dr Siddiqui and her family and will continue efforts to bring her back to Pakistan,” Dr Faisal said.

Replying to a question, he said Pakistan’s stance regarding Dr Siddiqui and Dr Shakeel Afridi was the same as before and there was no change in it.On Pakistan’s offer to aid Sri Lanka in counter-terror measures, the spokesman said Colombo had not yet sought any formal assistance from Pakistani forensic experts regarding blasts that took place in Colombo during Easter services.

He told reporters that President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called their respective counterparts and affirmed the people and government of Pakistan stood by Sri Lankan people at this crucial juncture. Dr Faisal said three Pakistani women sustained injuries in the blasts, adding: “Our embassy in Colombo is making every effort to facilitate them and keeping in touch with their families.” Replying to a question regarding Prime Minister Khan’s statement in Iran, he said the statement was referring to non-state actors using Pakistani soil under foreign influence to carry out activities in Pakistan or coordinating from Pakistan. “Pakistan is attacked using soil of Iran and Afghanistan as in case of Kulbhushan Jadhav and local facilitators,” he added.

The spokesperson said suspension of Kashmir border trade confidence-building measures was regrettable, adding it showed India’s non-serious attitude towards its relation with neighbouring countries and regional peace. “Pakistan is committed to Kartarpur Corridor and waiting for the next meeting with India in this regard,” he added.

Dr Faisal said Pakistan was deeply concerned regarding the plight of Kashmiris and incarceration of Hurriyat leaders, and condemned the continued incarceration of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Yasin Malik on trumped up charges despite his deteriorating health. He said Indian atrocities were continuing in occupied Kashmir as Indian forces in their latest acts of violence killed two youths in Bijbehara.