ISLAMABAD: (DNA) –  Pakistan and China have initiated cooperation on fighting against corruption, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

“I can confirm you that politically Pakistan and China are actively cooperating in fight against terrorism,” Foreign Office spokesman said at the weekly press briefing here at the Foreign Office.

China had assured the government of Pakistan of supporting its agenda of fighting corruption during a recent meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Minister for International Development of Communist Party of China Song Tao here in Islamabad.

To a question whether Pakistan would conform to the Chinese model of anti-corruption, the Spokesman said National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) would be dealing the matter.

The Spokesman said Pakistan wanted the military forces of the United States to continue with their presence in Afghanistan till completion of the agenda of peace.

When asked if Pakistan’s stance could invite the ire of Taliban, he said Pakistan in fact did not want to experience the same chaos as it did after the USSR abruptly left Afghanistan in late 90s.

He said the presence of American and other allied forces in Afghanistan were under the mandate given by the United Nations.

Spokesman Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan was steadfast in maintaining its position on Kashmir, adding that “there was no change in the principled stance.”

He said the new government was continuing with the same policy on Kashmir and mentioned the prime minister’s initiative of writing letter to his Indian counterpart for holding talks on important issues including Kashmir dispute and terrorism.

“Pakistan’s position on Kashmir is based on principle and undeterred,” the spokesman categorically added.

He mentioned the blatant human rights violations in the Indian occupied Kashmir and said the culprits involved in the rape and murder of eight-year-old Muslim gild Asifa were still scot-free despite availability of the authentic forensic evidence.

To a question on news reports about India’s plan to suspend flight operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), he said the PIA had been facing problems with regularization of its accounts in India and the matter was subjudice with the Delhi court.

He said despite repeated requests, India was delaying the visa extension of PIA manager and his family, forcing them to return to Pakistan.

He called upon India to facilitate the PIA official under the Air Services Agreement between the two countries, which otherwise, could be harmful to the bilateral relations and people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and India.

On progress on CASA-1000, the spokesman said during the meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the president of Tajikistan on the sidelines of SCO Heads of Government Conclave in Dushanbe, the two sides stressed fast-tracking of the project for ensuring energy corridor in the region.