Suspension of flights: 300 Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Iraq: FO

Spokesperson says efforts under way to bring them back; confirms Chinese FM to visit Islamabad next week.

ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministry has revealed that 300 Pakistani pilgrims are stranded in the strife-torn Iraqi capital. The pilgrims had travelled to Baghdad to attend the annual Urs of Sufi saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani.

“Pakistan’s mission in Baghdad has informed the ministry of foreign affairs that 300 Pakistani Zaireen (pilgrims) were stranded due to suspension of flights of Etihad Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Air Dubai, Air Jordan and some other airlines,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing on Friday.



Most of these Pakistanis are currently staying at a complex of the shrine where they are being provided accommodation and food, she added. The Community Welfare Attache of Pakistan’s mission in Baghdad, Aamir Rehman, visited these Pakistanis on February 3 and addressed most of their immediate needs.

“He, along with group leaders, also visited Etihad Airline’s office in Baghdad to discuss their early return to Pakistan,” she said, adding that the airline management had assured that these people would be sent back to Pakistan on priority.

“The ministry has directed Pakistan’s mission in the United Arab Emirates to liaise with Etihad Airline authorities in Abu Dhabi for operating a bigger aircraft so that the stranded Pakistanis could be accommodated in one flight, she added.

Chinese foreign minister likely to visit Pakistan

The Foreign Office spokesperson also confirmed that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was expected to arrive in Islamabad next week. “Yes, the Chinese foreign minister is likely to visit Pakistan. The exact dates would be announced once firmed up,” she told journalists.

Tasnim Aslam said the agenda of the Chinese foreign minister’s visit was still being worked out. “The two sides will cover the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and will discuss regional issues of common interest as per our tradition and practice,” she added.

A diplomatic source claimed that the Chinese foreign minister would also discuss the visit of President Xi Jinping, who was originally scheduled to travel to Islamabad in August last year. But the visit was cancelled due to political unrest in the country.

Some reports suggested that the Chinese president could be the chief guest at the joint military parade, which the government has decided to revive after a gap of seven years at Pakistan Day on March 23.

The spokesperson termed all such reports speculative. “We have repeatedly said that the Chinese president is expected to visit Pakistan in 2015. The exact dates of the visit are being worked out,” she added.

The Chinese president’s expected trip comes against the backdrop of the recent visit by US President Barack Obama to India where New Delhi and Washington signed key defence and nuclear agreements.

Pakistan voiced concerns over the Indo-US nuclear deal and warned that this would have a detrimental impact on the strategic stability in South Asia. Islamabad always looks up to its longtime ‘friend’ Beijing to offset any negative fallout of the bonhomie between the US and India.

Pakistan asks India to honour ‘Nehru’s commitment’

The Foreign Office spokesperson reminded India of the promises made by its first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru about holding a UN-sponsored plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir to decide the fate of the dispute Himalayan region.

“In its efforts to write a mythical history, India has forgotten the acknowledgement and commitments by its first prime minister on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. I would like to remind them of these commitments,” Tasnim stressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2015.