Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet President of United States Donald Trump on July 22 with an agenda of ‘refreshing bilateral relations’, the Foreign Office confirmed on Thursday.
The prime minister is undertaking the visit to Washington DC on the invitation of the US president, Foreign Office spokesman Dr Faisal said at a weekly press briefing. The spokesman said the agenda of the meeting is being developed through diplomatic channels. “The focus will be to refresh the bilateral relationship,” he said when asked about Pakistan’s expectations from the maiden official visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the US since he assumed the charge last August.
Asked if the designation of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US administration is a goodwill gesture ahead of PM Khan’s visit to Washington, the spokesman said, “It is an acknowledgment of Pakistan’s stance. The US has realised and acknowledged the point raised by us [against BLA], and we will continue our efforts in this direction,” he said. “BLA remains a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2006 and in recent times has carried out several terrorist attacks in the country. It is important that the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and external sponsors including those glorifying these acts of terror against Pakistan are held accountable and brought to justice,” he added.
With regard to internal and neighbourly relations, the FO spokesman said Pakistan has a crucial role in the continuous progress of the Afghan peace process. Dr Faisal commented that they were moving in a positive direction with regard to the Kartarpur Corridor’s inauguration.
The spokesman said Indian occupation forces during so-called cordon-and-search operations have martyred 40 Kashmiris. “We also remain gravely concerned over continued illegal detention, despite deteriorating health, of senior Hurriyat leaders, including Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Syeda Aasiya Andrabi and over a thousand other Hurriyat leaders, activists and students languishing in the notorious Indian Tihar Jail in New Delhi and various other jails in the occupied valley,” he said. “We also condemn the undemocratic act of Indian authorities who denied permission for an event of Amnesty International India-chapter to release its report on black law – Public Safety Act – titled ‘Tyranny of a lawless law: Detention Without Charge or Trial Under the J&K Public Safety Act’, in Srinagar on June 12 this year,” he continued. “India should stop misleading the international community and accept the ground realities and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, instead of continuing with its policy of obduracy in the territory,” he stressed.
The spokesman said Pakistan has conveyed to India that the second meeting to discuss the draft agreement for finalizing the modalities of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and related technical issues will be held on July 14 at Wagah. The Indian side has been requested to convey the composition of its delegation, he said. “Pakistan remains committed to expedited progress on the matter to ensure that the corridor is operationalized in time for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in November 2019,” he added.
On Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to Pakistan, he said the wide-ranging talks between the two sides focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including political, trade, economic, security, peace and reconciliation, education and people-to-people exchanges.
