Pakistan says no request from Iran for 'military assistance'
Islamabad, Jun 19 (PTI): Pakistan on Thursday said it has received no request for any “military assistance” from Iran in the ongoing war against Israel while stressing that the Islamic Republic has the right to defend itself.
“Pakistan’s position on Iran is clear and transparent: We provide full moral support to Iran; we strongly condemn the aggression against Iran,” Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said at the weekly press briefing here.
Khan said no request has been received from Tehran to provide asylum to Iranian refugees in Pakistan, which borders the Islamic Republic. “Nor has Iran asked us for any kind of military assistance so far,” he added.
"Iran has the right to defend itself under the UN Charter," Khan said.
Khan stated that twenty-one Muslim countries rejected the Israeli aggression against Iran in a joint statement, calling the Israeli actions against international law and the UN Charter.
The spokesperson said that the situation in Iran was a cause for grave concerns for Pakistan and asked for ending the Israel attacks.
He also said that Pakistan supported a negotiated resolution to the Iran-Israel conflict.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held telephonic contacts with the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom and highlighted that Israeli actions against Iran can have dangerous effects in the region and beyond, Khan added.
The spokesperson also stressed that targeting Iranian nuclear facilities was a violation of IAEA safeguards and other international laws.
He also said that the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran and the consulates in Mashhad and Zahedan were assisting in the evacuation of Pakistani nationals. He added that so far 3,000 Pakistanis have been brought back.
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Switching to electric power has saved Railways Rs 6,000 crore: Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): The Railways has saved Rs 6,000 crore by shifting from diesel to electric energy to run trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Responding to a debate on demands for grants of the Railway Ministry, he also said that the national transporter has become the second largest cargo carrier in the world.
Vaishnaw said that during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, 35,000 km of railway track has been laid while 27,000 km has been electrified.
He said while staff cost is the biggest expenditure of the Railways, energy is the second biggest expenditure.
He noted that in coming times diesel locomotives will fade away making way for electric locomotives.
Vaishnaw said since the Modi government came to power in 2014, politics of performance has taken over from politics of vote.
He said that in a visionary decision, PM Modi had decided to merge the railway budget with the general budget which has led to increase in financial allocation for his ministry.
Now, new trains are inaugurated and new projects are launched throughout the year, which was not the case earlier. Railways' financial health has increased and so has transparency in publishing accounts, he said.
Vaishnaw noted that the Finance Ministry and other agencies keep a tab on monetary health using IT systems.
As many as 210 MPs participated in the debate which lasted two days.
