Qureshi discusses fight against coronavirus with Indonesian FM

Foreign minister apprises his Indonesian counterpart of the law change in Occupied Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephonic conversation with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi on Friday and discussed with him the matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foreign Office said.

Qureshi offered deep condolences to the Indonesian government and the people over the loss of precious lives in the outbreak. He also commended Indonesia for the steps being taken by its authorities to contain the virus.



Apprising Marsudi of the situation in Pakistan, the foreign minister said that like Indonesia, Pakistan was also attempting to strike a balance between the need to arrest transmission of the disease through social distancing and other measures, and keeping the wheels of the economy moving.

Qureshi highlighted the call by Prime Minister Imran Khan for debt relief and restructuring for the developing countries. He noted that the initiative had resonated globally, as the World Bank, IMF, the EU, and the G-20 were working along these lines.

He apprised his Indonesian counterpart of the developments in Indian occupied Kashmir, where, despite reporting of cases of COVID-19, as well as deaths, restrictions on the movement of the people and communication remained in place.



The foreign minister stressed the need for calling on India to lift the communication restrictions to enable dissemination of information and to ensure unfettered supply of medicines and other essentials to the people in occupied territory.

Qureshi pointed to the heightened risk of contracting the virus in crowded Indian prisons and called for the release of Kashmiri leadership, youth and civil society members incarcerated by India. He also briefed Marsudi on the recent changes in domicile laws by India.

The foreign minister stressed that these steps were in violation of international law and must be stopped. The two sides also discussed prospects of collaborating on combating COVID-19 on the platforms of the OIC and the UN. They agreed to remain closely engaged.