Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said there should
not be "baseless speculation" from any quarters regarding the
testimony of David Headley in the US trial of terror suspect
Tahawwur Rana, charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
Headley`s case involves a trial in the US and Pakistan
has not been given access to him, Foreign Office spokesperson
Tehmina Janjua told a weekly news briefing.
She was responding to a question about Headley`s
testimony linking Pakistan`s ISI to the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan is "not in a position to determine the details
of what he (Headley) is saying or what he is not saying",
Janjua said.
"Therefore, what we can say is that it is our
expectation that all sides will refrain from vitiating the
atmosphere by baseless speculation" from the trial, she said.
Headley`s testimony in a Chicago court, which is
conducting the trial of his friend Rana, has detailed the
alleged role of some ISI officers and Lashker-e-Toiba
commanders in planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.
The son of a Pakistani broadcaster and an American
woman, Headley struck a plea bargain with US authorities to
testify against other suspects in order to avoid the death
penalty.
In response to another question, Janjua said Pakistan
had given India a non-paper on the Siachen issue during a
recent meeting of the Defence Secretaries of the two countries
in New Delhi.
The non-paper - diplomatic parlance for a negotiating
text informally circulated to facilitate discussions without
making any commitment to the contents - states Pakistan`s
position that was clearly outlined in the past.
"It is basically putting down on paper clearly our
position with regard to Siachen...It`s our clear position so
that there is no ambiguity," Janjua said.
Janjua evaded a question on remarks by Indian leaders
about the danger of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, saying
"Pakistan does not intend to run any of our relationships
through the media. Any effort to run a relationship through
the media does not lead to constructive engagement."
Pakistan has gone into the dialogue process with India
that resumed earlier this year with an "open and constructive
mind and with the objective of having result-oriented talks",
she said.
The two countries are in the process of finalising
dates for talks between their Foreign Secretaries on the
issues of peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir and friendly
exchanges, she said.
"Our dialogue process with India is going according to
schedule," she added.
PTI
