ISLAMABAD:
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday highlighted that foreign policy remains a federal responsibility, in response 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 carry it out,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly briefing.
This came after Gandapur’s announcement to send a KP delegation to Kabul sparked a backlash from Defense Minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response was cautious but clear that provincial authorities do not have the mandate for foreign policy.
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,” he 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 directed by the government.
“As for any official commitment, it is premature for us to comment on it until a formal proposal is made,” he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed recent clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces, in which 16 Taliban fighters were reportedly killed. Baloch described the September 7 incident as “an unprovoked attack on Pakistani checkpoints across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border”, adding that Pakistan would continue to defend itself against such provocations.
In another matter, Baloch reiterated Pakistan’s support for Kashmir, rejecting Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent comments. “Pakistan has always defended the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, criticizing India’s portrayal of its occupation as an internal matter.
“India’s claims ring hollow in the face of decades of repression of the people of Kashmir,” he concluded.
