EU observers arrive in Islamabad for polls monitoring

Thursday, April 4th, 2013 4:22:42 by

A group of European officials arrived in Pakistan to observe the May 11 parliamentary elections in Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

 

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary said that advance and core teams of EU observer mission are already in Pakistan and more will arrive later.

 

The EU Islamabad office says that the team will include up to 110 members, including a core team of eleven experts (deputy chief observer, election analyst, political analyst, legal analyst, human rights analyst, media analyst and others), 52 Long Term Observers (LTOs) and 46 Short Term Observers (STOs).

 

On the basis of special agreements with the EU, observers from Norway, Switzerland and Canada, are also part of the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM).

 

Chaudhry said that requests from European Union and National Democratic Institute of the U.S. have been received so far for monitoring of elections.

 

He told weekly press briefing that the NDI wants to send 57 observers for the purpose and that Pakistan will facilitate foreign observers for the elections.

 

Replying to the current Pak-Afghan tension over the cross-border shelling, the spokesman said Pakistan maintains a positive approach and is engaged with Kabul at all required levels. He said Pakistan remains committed to supporting all efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan.

 

To a question he said Pakistan will welcome role in Afghan peace process by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), adding that the SCO  can play in promoting peace in Afghanistan.

 

“SCO is a regional organization and Pakistan supports any role that it can play for the purpose as there have been demands for regional solutions to regional problems,” he said a day after Pakistan, China and Russian diplomats met in Beijing and supported the pace process in Afghanistan.

 

To another question the spokesman said that no dates have yet been announced for the next round of Pakistan-US strategic dialogue.
He emphasized that it is committed to the objective of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation but the process must be non-discriminatory.
Chaudhary said Pakistan firmly believed that the issue of nuclear disarmament should be taken up in the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva in a comprehensive manner.

 

He said talks should be held on all the four elements of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, arms race in outer space and negative security assurances.
Replying to a question, the spokesman said Pakistan and China have normal cooperation in civil nuclear matters.  He also pointed out that this civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries is in full compliance of the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
To another question he said Pakistan and India are engaged in different ways and channels and composite dialogue was centre piece of that process.
He told a question that Foreign Ministry is in contact with Interior Ministry and Punjab Government in connection with autopsy report of an Indian prisoner who died in Lahore. The report, when received, would be shared with Indian High Commission and made public. He, however, pointed out that according to an APP story based on autopsy report, he died of massive heart attack.

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