ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has told foreign countries that the nation doesn’t need any advice on polls and it takes its constitutional obligations very seriously.
This was stated by Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at her weekly briefing in Islamabad. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, while replying to a query, said, “We are fulfilling our constitutional responsibilities. There is no need for foreign advice related to the election.”
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She said Pakistan’s election process is an internal sovereign affair, emphasizing Pakistan’s commitment to upholding its constitutional obligations. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch emphasized nation’s democratic nature, highlighting the momentous participation of millions of voters, including unprecedented numbers of young and women voters in the general elections.
She also mentioned that Islamabad welcomed foreign observers, including a group from the Commonwealth, showing Pakistan’s commitment to transparency in the electoral process.
The spokesperson said Pakistan takes its constitutional obligations very seriously. It is the right of Pakistani people to enjoy freedoms and democracy. She added any step that Pakistan takes in this connection is in conformity with its own constitutional obligations and not influenced by any external advice.
She also pointed out that the interim report of Commonwealth observer group also highlighted the transparency and participatory nature of the general elections in Pakistan.
When asked regarding the budget announced by the Indian government for Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the spokesperson said pouring in money in the occupied territory can neither absolve the occupying power from its responsibilities nor can it legitimatize its illegal occupation.
She added Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest unresolved disputes. It has been on the agenda of the UNSC since 1948. The spokesperson said the UNSC resolutions reaffirm the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Expressing concerns over the presence of one million Indian security forces in Occupied Kashmir, she added these forces are responsible for suppression of the people of Kashmir. The spokesperson called for a solution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute on the basis of UNSC’s resolutions.
