PM Kakar to attend World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Jan 15-19

Islamabad: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar will visit Davos, Switzerland on January 15-19 to participate in the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Foreign Office said Thursday.

The WEF is an annual gathering of government and corporate leaders for discussions on contemporary trends and challenges, developments shaping the world, and charting collective policy responses. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Rebuilding Trust”.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, in her weekly press briefing, said that the prime minister would attend three key thematic events, including preventing an era of global conflict, restoring faith in the global system, and preventing economic fracture.

The prime minister would also deliver a keynote address on the theme “Trade Tech’s Trillion Dollar Promise” and hold meetings with government and business leaders on the sidelines, she added.

The FO spokesperson said Pakistan rejected the US State Department’s classification of it as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC).

“There are serious questions about the credibility and transparency of the process of making such classifications,” she added.

Baloch said,“We also believe that such unilateral, arbitrary, and subjective designations and reports are counterproductive and undermine the objective of advancing religious freedoms.”

The spokesperson said Pakistan supported the application filed by South Africa before the International Court of Justice concerning Israel’s violations of its obligations under the 1951 Genocide Convention about the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“We consider this legal action timely and an important step towards holding Israel to account for its well-documented atrocities unleashed against Palestinian people since 7th October 2023,” she said.

Pakistan, she said, shared the concerns raised in the application by South Africa. “Israel’s ongoing military aggression and actions against the Palestinian people constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and amount to genocidal acts.”

The spokesperson said,“We reiterate our call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire; an end to Israel’s unabated massacre of the Palestinian people; an uplifting of an inhumane siege; and expeditious delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.”

She said Pakistan firmly believed that the only just solution to the Palestinian question was the creation of an independent, viable, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian state along the pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds-Al-Sharif as its capital.

Mumtaz Baloch said the fifth of January was observed as the Right to Self-Determination Day for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

On this day in 1949, she said, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) adopted a resolution guaranteeing a free and fair plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, to enable the Kashmiri people to realize their right to self-determination.

“The right to self-determination is a fundamental tenet of international law. Every year, the UN General Assembly adopts a resolution that reaffirms the legal right of people to decide their destiny,” she said.

The spokesperson expressed unequivocal support for the realization of the right to self-determination for the people under foreign occupation.

“For over 70 years, India has denied the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination,” she said.

She urged India to respect the rights and freedoms of the people in IIOJK so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The spokesperson said Pakistan would continue to extend political, diplomatic, and moral support to the Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

To a question about Afghanistan, she said Pakistan had many areas of convergences and many areas of common interest with Afghanistan.

“We, of course, have some issues, especially concerning the threat of terrorism that Pakistan is facing. However, Pakistan has said time and again that we will continue to maintain dialogue with Afghanistan. And that is why we have been continuing to receive official delegations from Afghanistan. And if you would recall, earlier we had the visit of the Afghan Minister for Commerce, when we discussed matters relating to trade, including transit trade.

“Recently, the visit of the Governor of Kandahar took place in the context of JCC, which is a regular consultation mechanism between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where border issues are discussed and we are encouraged by the discussions that took place during that visit.”

To another question, she said, “Pakistan has condemned the terrorist attack that took place in Kerman, Iran, and we have expressed our complete solidarity with the people of Iran as they face this terrorist threat.”

“Pakistan has said that terrorism is a threat that requires regional cooperation and for that we would continue to work with our neighbour, Iran and of course also with Afghanistan to ensure that terrorism is not a threat to Pakistan, or to Afghanistan or to Iran,” she added.