Pakistan against arms race in region
islamabad — Pakistan is against an arms race in the region, Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammed Faisal said while commenting on the recent India-Russia air defence system deal.
The remark was made during his weekly briefing in Islamabad.
Dr Faisal said that countries providing India any weapons should make sure their assistance does not disturb the balance of power in the region. He said that Pakistan’s armed forces are fully ready to respond to any aggression. About India, Dr Faisal mentioned that Pakistan had not made any efforts to schedule talks with India on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in view of the UN General Assembly incident.
“Pakistan has not shied away from talks with India and is open to discuss all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and terrorism,” Dr Faisal said, noting that it was India that had backed off from holding talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York after initially agreeing to them. —