ISLAMABAD:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday stressed that foreign policy remains a federal responsibility, responding to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s plan to send his own delegation to Afghanistan to address security concerns .
“Foreign policy is a federal subject and it is the prerogative of the government of Pakistan to pursue it,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told a weekly press briefing.
This came after Gandapur’s announcement to send a KP delegation to Kabul triggered a backlash from Defense Minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly. The response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was cautious but clear that provincial authorities have no foreign policy mandate.
Baloch added that proposals by any public figure related to foreign policy must be approved by the federal government. “Decisions will be taken in the national interest of Pakistan,” she said.
When asked if the KP delegation could travel privately, the spokesperson clarified that Pakistani officials and citizens are free to visit other countries privately, but such trips are not ordered by the government.
“As with any official commitment, it is premature for us to comment until a formal proposal is made,” she added.
The Foreign Office also confirmed recent clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces, in which 16 Taliban fighters were reported killed. Baloch described the September 7 incident as “an unprovoked attack on Pakistani checkposts from the Pakistan-Afghan border”, adding that Pakistan would continue to defend itself against such provocations.
On a separate issue, Baloch reiterated Pakistan’s support for Kashmir, rejecting recent remarks by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah. “Pakistan has always stood for the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said, criticizing India’s portrayal of its occupation as an internal issue.
“India’s claims ring hollow in the face of decades of repression of the Kashmiri people,” she concluded.