ISLAMABAD, May 17: The Foreign Office on Thursday said that the United States diplomat involved in the killing of a Pakistani citizen in a road accident was allowed to leave the country after an assurance that he would be tried in a US court of law, state-run media reported.
During his weekly press briefing, FO Spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said Colonel Joseph had diplomatic immunity, and added that travel restrictions of diplomats of the United States were now in place.
“Diplomats and their families will have to seek prior permission to travel outside the radius of 25 miles,” he told reporters.
The FO also notified the press that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will depart for Turkey on Friday to attend a special summit of OIC to discuss recent massacre of innocent Palestinians by Israeli forces.
Faisal stressed that Pakistan believed in a two-state solution to the Palestinian dispute in accordance with UN resolutions. The spokesperson noted that the entire Muslim world was united over this issue.
Answering a question about India politics, Faisal remarked that India was using the Pakistan card to influence internal politics in the country.
“Indian media is active vis-a-vis Pakistan and New Delhi is also trying to divert the attention of the international community from occupied Kashmir,” the spokesperson stated.
Faisal referred to a recent incident which highlighted the friction between the two countries and said Pakistan regretted the decision of the Indian government to prevent the daughter of famous poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz from addressing a function in India.
“Pakistan has always tried to tone down Indian aggression and we are not oblivious to the rapid armed buildup and induction of destabilizing weapon system in our neighbourhood,” Faisal maintained.
He added that Pakistan was committed to a policy of restraint and avoidance of armed race in South Asia, but would take necessary steps to safeguard its vested interests.
Regarding fourth round of Pakistan-Afghanistan discussions in Islamabad, the spokesperson said both the countries had finalised Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPS).
He elaborated that the plan provided a framework to strengthen mutual trust, deepen interaction in all spheres of bilateral engagements and also provided a mechanism to final solutions for areas of mutual concerns.
“APAPS will continue towards a common objective of eliminating terrorism and help achieving peace stability, prosperity and development of the two countries.”-DNA
