Eastern neighborhood a major source of terrorism in region: FO.

ISLAMABAD -- Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar on Friday said Pakistan's eastern neighbourhood had been a major source of terrorism in the region which continued to utilize the scourge as an instrument of state policy.

The spokesperson, in his weekly press briefing, said the terrorism from the eastern neighbourhood was mostly directed against Pakistan.

He said Pakistan had long been informing the international community that under the guise of its presence in Afghanistan, India had been exploiting that situation, to the detriment of Pakistan's security by financing, aiding and abetting, planning and executing terrorist and subversive activities in the country.

He said Pakistan had shared the situation with key members of the international community, including the P-5, and in the United Nations system.

He said whenever there was a dialogue, Pakistan would raise the issues, specifically and strongly and 'it is not that we shy away from this dialogue, because we think and it is the factual situation on ground that it is India, which is responsible for this kind of environment in our neighbourhood, and we would very much take it up.'

Apprising media about the diplomatic engagements during the week, the spokesperson mentioned the ongoing visit of Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Ambassador Zhang Ming, which provides an opportunity to engage with the SCO Secretariat and highlight Pakistan's perspective and priorities for making the SCO mechanisms more effective in advancing shared regional security and economic goals.

He said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would also be participating in the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tashkent next week from July 28-29.

He said on Thursday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari received a call from the German foreign minister, who also received Iran's Special Representative for Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Ghomi.

He recalled that on July 18 China's Special Envoy on Afghanistan Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong, called on Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood wherein they exchanged views on the political and security situation in Afghanistan, humanitarian assistance by Pakistan and China to Afghanistan, and other matters of mutual interest.

On July 21, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and China's Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao co-chaired the 3rd Meeting of CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination, and reviewed continued...