ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has taken up the matter of a Canadian parliamentarian’s remarks about Pakistani military with the government of Canada, terming them “baseless and unsubstantiated.”
Responding to questions during his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Friday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said Pakistan takes serious exception to the remarks and maintains that freedom of speech entails responsibility.
“Pakistan and Canada have multifaceted ties and we wish to deepen the same on the basis of mutual respect and trust,” the spokesman added.
He further said such incidents are not helpful in that context.
Just yesterday, Islamabad lodged a strong diplomatic protest with Ottawa over Canadian MP Tom Kmiec’s “irresponsible and undiplomatic” remarks about Pakistani military.
The Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan was summoned to the Foreign Office on Thursday and a strong démarche was served.
While speaking in the lower house of Canadian parliament, Tom Kmiec of Canada’s Conservative Party allegedly sought to drag in the security establishment in the political volatility in Pakistan.
Tom Kmiec is a Canadian parliamentarian for Calgary Shepard in the House of Commons. He has served in finance and foreign affairs committees and also he is the former national conservative caucus chairman of the 43rd Parliament.
He is accused of campaigning for groups hostile towards the state of Pakistan.
