FO congratulates Joe Biden as US Congress confirms election win

Spokesperson says situation in Washington DC being monitored; hopes transfer of power issue will be resolved soon

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Thursday congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden after US Congress certified his victory and hoped the transfer of power would be smooth amid ongoing protests in Capitol.

“We are closely following the developments in Washington DC. We are hopeful that the situation will soon normalise and would not in any way impact the ongoing transition process,” Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri told his weekly news briefing.

“We also wish to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on the certification of his win by US Congress,” he added.

Such remarks are usually used by the US for other countries including Pakistan in the past but the dramatic events in Washington forced the world to air concerns about the future of democracy in the US.

Several countries, including India, the UK and Turkey, expressed concerns over the storming of Capitol Hill by President Donald Trump protestors. Social media has gone haywire, with many from the third world countries mocking the US and its democratic credentials.

Kashmir

Speaking about Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), the spokesperson said that the Kashmiris' right to plebiscite was observed on January 5.

On that day, India had promised to give Kashmiris their right to self-determination, he said.

“In a speech to All India Radio in November 1947, India assured the Kashmiris of the right to a referendum,” Chaudhry maintained.

However, he said, India has backtracked on all its promises in the last seven decades.

Pakistan has demanded the release of the Kashmiri leadership, especially Asiya Andrabi, from the UN secretary general and the Human Rights Commission.

He added that Pakistan welcomes the statement of the OIC Human Rights Commission, demanding immediate release of Andrabi and other Kashmiri leaders and an end to human rights violations.

Chaudhri further stated that Pakistan greatly appreciates Malaysia's OIC advisory council condemning the detention of Andrabi and other Kashmiri leaders.

Karak temple; Machh incident

The spokesperson also briefly spoke about the recent burning of a Hindu temple in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district, saying that an immediate FIR was registered against those responsible for the heinous act.

“The government is the plaintiff in this FIR which reflects its policy towards minorities,” he added.

Chaudhri also spoke about the incident at Machh coalfield and said the incident was also under investigation and the details will soon be made public.

Afghan peace talks

The Foreign Office official further spoke about the Afghan peace talks.

He said that Pakistan welcomes the start of the second round of intra-Afghan talks in Doha.

“It is hoped that both sides will work out a roadmap to reduce violence and make the talks a success,” he said.

Denying the recent allegations made by Afghanistan’s first Vice President Amrullah Saleh, the spokesperson maintained that such allegations will not offer any help in the peace process.

“Instead of non-government means, government channels should be empowered to discuss such matters,” he observed.

The spokesperson added that there have been important developments in the agreement between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban.