FO responds to global concerns over Pakistan's situation.

ISLAMABAD -- In the wake of violent protests and messages of concern over the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, the Foreign Office Friday said Pakistan has "full ability to deal with all domestic challenges in accordance with our laws and constitution."

"We have noted the statements that have come on the current situation in Pakistan and we remind them all that Pakistan has full ability to deal with all domestic challenges in accordance with our laws and Constitution," the FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a presser.

She further said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari - in his meeting with his interim Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi - clearly communicated that talks with terrorists organisations, including the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would not be held, "as it did not respect Pakistan's laws and Constitution".

In one-on-one talks with Muttaqi, the Foreign Office and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir have turned down his proposal to talk out differences with the banned terrorist outfit.

The FO spokesperson added: "Pakistan has been very consistent. The foreign minister is on record to have said that there would be no talks with the terrorist organisations that did not respect our laws and Constitution. This was also very clearly enunciated in the trilateral statement that came out during the visit of the foreign minister of China and the interim Afghan foreign minister.

'In the trilateral statement, the three sides underscored the need to tackle the security challenges, posing a serious threat to regional peace and stability. They agreed not to allow their territories to be used by any individual group or party, including the TTP and East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), to conduct terrorist activities and actions. This was a joint statement that was a result of a consensus between the three delegations'.

In this regard, Baloch reiterated that Pakistan, China and Afghanistan underscored the need to tackle the security challenges that pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

She added that the three were determined not to allow their territories to be used by any individual, group or party - including the TTP and ETIM - to conduct terrorist activities and actions.

The FO did not agree with reports published in the local and foreign media regarding the comments of the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang that Pakistan needed to...