Banning political parties an internal issue of Pakistan, says Foreign Office

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that countries should stop interfering and commenting on Pakistan’s internal matters.

Addressing a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Friday, a MoFA spokesperson added that banning political parties is Pakistan’s internal matter and Islamabad can handle its personal affairs.

Commenting on the recent attack on Bannu Cantt by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mumtaz briefed that Pakistan has expressed its serious concerns to the Afghan government. Pakistan has warned about the alarming situation over the use of Afghan territory for terrorism against Pakistan requesting the Afghan government to take immediate and effective action against the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, she said.

Furthermore, she explained that Pakistan has shared intelligence with the interim Afghanistan government regarding the control of terrorist groups and has maintained continuous and effective communication with Afghan authorities.

Regarding the immigration system, she explained that the rules and regulations are very strict, and various illegal Afghanis are deported daily, 44000 Afghans are waiting for their relocations, she added.

Moreover, she stated that Pakistan highly condemned the attack on the Shia mosque in Oman’s capital of Muscat that occurred on Muharram 9 killing at least six Pakistanis and several injured.

FO spokesperson said that Pakistan stands against continuous attacks on innocent Palestinian refugee camps especially the assault on Khan Younis camp, resulting in the deaths of 19 Palestinians, calling it an act of violence against United Nations regulations.