ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, Thursday, exchanged views over the situation in Afghanistan and the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Foreign Office said in a statement that the visiting Bacheletmet with Qureshi at his office.
In his talks, the foreign minister underscored Pakistan’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. He outlined the government’s policy aimed at ensuring human dignity, empowerment of women, advancing the rights of the child, safeguarding the rights of minorities, and promoting inter-faith harmony.
Qureshi and Bachelet discussed matters relating to the situation in Afghanistan. He stressed that the people of Afghanistan were in dire need of international assistance and support to avert a humanitarian crisis and economic meltdown.
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While acknowledging the international community’s expectations from Afghanistan on respect for human rights of all Afghans, the foreign minister stressed that the Afghan authorities should be constructively engaged. The international community should also fulfil its commitments of humanitarian and economic assistance to the Afghan people, he added.
The foreign minister briefed on the gross, systematic and widespread violations of human rights in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
While referring to the two Kashmir Reports issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), he stressed the need for continuous monitoring of the grave human rights situation in IIOJK and measures to address it.
He particularly highlighted the increasing violations in the IIOJK with respect to illegal demographic changes; reprisal attacks against human rights defenders; extra-judicial killings, fake encounters, and destruction of property; and the clear pattern of impunity enjoyed by Indian occupation forces under draconian laws. The foreign minister underscored that India must be held accountable for its illegal actions and serious crimes.
The foreign minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued cooperation with the UN Human Rights machinery for the promotion and protection of all human rights and realisation of the sustainable development agenda.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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