Islamabad: Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has said that the latest remarks by the Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval regarding Pakistan-India standoff are distortion and misrepresentation.
This was stated by FO Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, at his weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Friday. The FO Spokesperson said these remarks not only reflect a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, but also violate the norms of a responsible statecraft.
He said boasting of military aggression against a sovereign nation is a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and established principles of the international law. Rather than resorting to fictitious narrative, India should accept the downing of six fighter jets and severe damages to other military targets.
Replying a question, Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan will continue to raise awareness of the international community about the dire and grim human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The FO Spokesperson said Pakistan condemns the human rights violations perpetrated in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the recent incident attracts the entire international community to see it.
He said Indian armed forces are operating there with impunity with license to kill. He said Pakistan will continue to highlight the depravity of the Indian policy.
He said Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, is leading the Pakistan delegation at the 32nd Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), being held today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the ARF Ministerial Meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will participate in discussions on political and security issues affecting Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on promoting peace, stability, and mutual cooperation through dialogue.
On the sidelines of the 32nd ARF Ministerial Meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar met with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim; Canadian Foreign Minister, Anita Anand; Foreign Minister of Australia, Senator Penny Wong; Foreign Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thongsavanh Phomvihane; Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, Hon. Vijitha Herath; Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov; EU High Representative and Vice President, Kaja Kallas; Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis; and the UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.
The leaders reviewed the progress of ongoing bilateral engagements and expressed their commitment to further enhancing cooperation particularly in economic, trade, investment, education, tourism, high-level political exchanges, and people-to-people contact. They also discussed a range of regional and global issues, including the recent developments in the region. He also engaged with the Pakistani community in Kuala Lumpur.
On the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Trkiye, Hakan Fidan, co-chair of the Joint Commission under the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) framework, and the Minister of National Defence, Yasar Gler, co-chair of the Joint Ministerial Commission, visited Islamabad on 9 July 2025.
The Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister welcomed the visiting dignitaries and underscored the close and brotherly relations between Pakistan and Trkiye. He appreciated the growing momentum in bilateral cooperation and stressed the importance of expanding collaboration in areas such as trade, investment, and energy.
The Turkish Foreign Minister conveyed warm greetings from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and reaffirmed Trkiye's strong desire to deepen cooperation with Pakistan. He highlighted the profound historical, cultural, and religious bonds that underpin the enduring relationship between the two countries.
The two sides also exchanged views on a range of regional and global developments. They reaffirmed their shared commitment to peace, security, and development in the region.
The first meeting of the Joint Commission, co-chaired by the two Foreign Ministers, to review the progress of the twelve Joint Standing Committees under the HLSCC framework was also held on 9 July 2025.
A high-powered delegation led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Syed Tariq Fatemi, as well as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan, who is also the focal point for the Pakistan Steel Mills project, called on Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk in Moscow on Friday.
Shafqat Ali Khan said that the two sides reviewed the entire range of bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest, including political, trade and economic cooperation, as well as energy, connectivity, industrial and agricultural cooperation. Furthermore, SAPM Syed Tariq Fatemi underlined that Pakistan attached high importance to its relations with the Russian Federation, adding that strengthening relations with the latter was one of the Pakistan's foreign policy priorities. He affirmed that Pakistan viewed Russia as a stabilizing factor in the international arena. The SAPM Haroon Akhtar gave an overview of the investment-friendly industrial policy of Pakistan, that had ensured macro-economic stability, achieved under the present Government.
The two sides also touched upon regional and international issues, such as the situation in South Asia, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, as well as bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Russia at all multilateral fora.
The inaugural round of the Additional Secretary-Level Mechanism between the Foreign Ministries of Pakistan and Afghanistan was held on 7 July 2025 in Islamabad, pursuant to the decisions reached during the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan to Kabul, Afghanistan, on 19 April 2025. Additional Secretary (Afghanistan and West Asia), Ambassador Syed Ali Asad Gillani, led Pakistani side while the Afghan side was led by Director General, First Political Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor.
Shafqat Ali Khan said that the discussions covered key areas of bilateral interest, including trade and transit cooperation, repatriation of Afghan refugees, security, and connectivity. Both sides recognized terrorism as a serious threat to regional peace and security. The Pakistan side emphasized the need for concrete actions against terrorist groups operating on the Afghan soil, noting that such groups undermine Pakistan's security and hinder regional development.
Both sides reaffirmed their support for sustained engagement to address mutual challenges. They recognized lasting security as a cornerstone, for both the region's optimal development as well as for further advancement of bilateral relations. They decided to convene the next round of the Additional-Secretary level talks at mutually convenient dates.
The 9thRound of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) between Pakistan and the Republic of Poland was held in Warsaw, Poland, on 4 July 2025. The Pakistan delegation was led by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe), Ambassador Muhammad Ayub, while the Polish delegation was headed by Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski. The Ambassador of Pakistan to Poland, Muhammad Sami-ur-Rehman, and the Polish Ambassador to Pakistan, Maciej Pisarski, were also present during the consultations.
The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthening cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, energy, security and defence, science and technology, agriculture, migration and mobility and higher education. Regional and global issues of mutual interest, including developments in South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe were discussed in depth. Both sides also agreed to enhance collaboration including through the continued cooperation at multilateral forums, including the United Nations; exchange of high-level visits; parliamentary exchanges and dialogue. It was mutually agreed to hold the next round of consultations in Islamabad in 2026.
FO Spokesperson said that the 94th 'Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir' (Kashmir Martyrs Day) will be observed on 13 July 2025 to remember the martyrdom of 22 Kashmiris, who sacrificed their lives in Srinagar in 1931 while braving the indiscriminate firing of Dogra forces of the erstwhile 'Maharaja' of Jammu and Kashmir. We salute their courage and bravery, which ignited a valiant struggle for the Kashmiri peoples' fundamental rights and freedoms.
This is most unfortunate that the plight of the Kashmiri people remains unending even after 94 years of the Srinagar tragedy. The Indian Forces enjoy impunity to kill any Kashmiri and destroy any property under the draconian emergency and counterterrorism laws. Earlier this week, the ninth anniversary of the extrajudicial killing of the Kashmiri youth leader, Burhan Muzaffar Wani, was observed. Burhan Wani was one of the hundreds of Kashmiri youth, who have been victims of extra-judicial killings. So, we once again urge the Government of India to bring an end to extra-judicial killings and desist from indiscriminate use of force against the Kashmiri people.