MPs delegation to visit Aafia: FO

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani parliamentarians will soon visit the United States to meet Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is detained in New York, said the foreign office spokesman, Muhammad Sadiq here on Thursday.
“A delegation of parliamentarians will visit USA to meet Dr Aafia Siddiqui currently under detention in New York,” Sadiq said while addressing his weekly briefing.
“In this regard we are seeking consular access for the visiting parliamentarians and other officials from Pakistan,” he said.
He said, “Pakistan has also taken up the issue of Dr Aafia’s repatriation to Pakistan with Bush Administration.”
He said that we were doing our best to protect Dr Aafia’s rights as prisoner under detention.
“Pakistan has also demanded that the children of Dr Aafia should be returned and the US authorities have told us that they are not in their custody. Still, we will continue with our efforts aimed at the search of her children, he said.
To a question, Sadiq that it was also incorrect that she had dual nationality adding, “she only has Pakistani nationality.”
Answering another query, he said that Pakistan had not changed its policy on Kashmir despite a war of words with India on volatile situation in Indian held Kashmir. “Pakistan also remains committed to the peace process with India,” he added.
Sadiq also said that the resignation of former President Pervez Musharraf earlier this week would have no impact on proposals mooted by him to resolve the contentious issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
In reply to another question, he said Pakistan attached great importance to cross-Line of Control (LoC) confidence-building measures.
He said Pakistan also hosted a meeting of Working Group on cross-LoC CBMs in July this year adding that several steps discussed in that meeting were later approved by the Indo-Pak foreign secretaries during their talks in New Delhi later.
“The steps included an increase in the frequency of the two cross-LoC bus services, introducing triple entry travel permits and expeditious processing of travel requests in emergencies,” he said.
“This would allow divided Kashmiri families to meet and provide relief to the Kashmiri people,” Sadiq added.
To a query on BJP president Rajnath Singh’s remarks that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has launched “economic terrorism” in India, he said such baseless and unsubstantiated charges by a senior member of India’s leading political party were unfortunate and needed to be avoided.