SAARC summit: India did not offer a car to Nawaz, says FO

Denies Islamabad snubbed any such offer by New Delhi

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday dismissed reports that Pakistan had snubbed India’s offer of a vehicle for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for use during the upcoming summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), scheduled to be held in Nepal later this month.

“We have seen media reports that a vehicle was offered and the offer was refused. Nothing of this sort happened,” FO spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters at her weekly briefing. “No vehicle was offered by India and no offer was declined.” On Tuesday, an official in Nepal said Prime Minister Nawaz would be ‘bringing his own car’ for the summit. “All other vehicles for (visiting) heads of countries have come from India," Nepal’s foreign ministry spokesman Khaga Nath Adhikari added.

Subsequently, Indian media claimed Pakistan had snubbed India’s offer of a car for the summit which will take place next week in Kathmandu.

Answering a question, Tasnim said she had nothing to share about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India on the sidelines of the summit.

“I can confirm the meeting with the leadership of the host country. Apart from that I do not have the details of other meetings. During the Summit and retreat, leaders do interact,” she added.

Afghan president’s visit

The spokesperson termed the recent visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Pakistan ‘very successful’.

“This was a very successful visit. It was rich not only in symbolism but also in substance. A number of areas have been identified in which the two countries will be working together very closely. The visit has enhanced and cemented the understanding on our common interest,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tasnim said Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz called Afghanistan’s national security adviser on Thursday in order to clarify his remarks in an interview with BBC Urdu on October 17.

Aziz had disapproved of the conventional wisdom of indiscriminately targeting all shades of militants in the ongoing military operations in the tribal regions, arguing in favour of a more selective approach during the interview.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2014.