India urged to end protracted imprisonment

Pakistan on Friday asked India to put an end to the protracted imprisonment of Shabbir Shah and thousands of other Kashmiri political leaders and activists, whose “basic crime” was to demand their inalienable right to self-determination.

The Founder and President of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, “who completed six years of his continued detention this month, must be released along with other Kashmiri political leaders and activists, and acquitted of the fabricated charges against them”, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in her weekly press briefing.

She said incarcerated currently in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail, Shabbir had spent 36 years in prison for his political views.

“The total period of his confinement exceeds half of his life. He is rightly called by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.”

With respect to the Greek boat tragedy, the spokesperson said two separate flights carrying the mortal remains of four Pakistanis, who perished in the disaster, had arrived in Lahore and Islamabad, and were handed over to their families in Gujrat and Gujranwala districts.

“Our Mission in Greece has made plans for the transportation of the remaining bodies within the next few days. We also remain in contact with the Greek authorities for identification of the victims,” she added.

Condemning in the strongest possible terms the repeated Islamophobic acts of public desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, she said such disturbing acts were both legally and morally reprehensible.

“Permission to carry out premeditated and provocative acts of religious hatred cannot be justified under the guise of freedom of expression, opinion, and protest.”

She said Pakistan’s concerns about the latest incident were being conveyed to the Swedish authorities.
To a question, she said the issue of terrorism was a matter of serious concern to Pakistan, and had been raised with the Afghan interim authorities on multiple occasions and at every important engagement that took place between the two sides. “We have discussed the threat of terrorism emanating from the Afghan soil.”

To another query, she said Iran was a very close neighbour and friend of Pakistan.

“We have extensive historical ties with Iran. These relations are multifaceted; they are in the economic domain, political domain, connectivity, science and technology, education, culture, and defence and security as well.”

To another question, she said Pakistan also had a close relationship with the Russian Federation as there had been a flurry of visits exchanged between two countries.

The Senate chairman recently visited Russia where bilateral cooperation was discussed.
“Our engagement with Russia will continue.”

With respect to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), she said the 10-year celebrations of CPEC were taking place not just in Pakistan but also in China.