Pakistan to use UNSC seat for world peace

FO calls for India’s accountability over 7,000 custodial deaths in IIOJK

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan said on Friday it would use its position in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the peaceful resolution of disputes, combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations and promoting democracy, transparency, and accountability.

Pakistan was elected to the UNSC with an overwhelming majority of 182 votes by the UN General Assembly. At her weekly press briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch thanked the members, particularly the Asia-Pacific Group for their confidence in Pakistan.

“Pakistan will play its role in the peaceful resolution of disputes, opposing the resort to unilateral force, combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations, supporting UN peacekeeping efforts, resolution for regional and international crises, and promoting democracy, transparency, and accountability,” she said.

The Foreign Office spokesperson stated that any movement of the people on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border should be regulated under visa, stressing that Pakistani laws guaranteed human rights and that the country took the implementation of its law very seriously.

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Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed that Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Ambassador Asif Durrani would attend a quadrilateral meeting with special envoys of Iran, China, Russia in Tehran over the weekend.

She said it was important for the regional countries, especially the neighbours of Afghanistan, to consult and work together for peace and stability in Afghanistan and ensure that Afghanistan was not a source of terrorism in the region.

She called for holding India accountable for its unabated human rights abuses in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), where over 7,000 Kashmiris had so far died in the custody of Indian forces during the last three decades.

“This is not the first incident of its kind,” she said, highlighting the reported death of a Kashmiri civilian at a police station in IIOJK’s Pulwama district. “Over the last three decades the number of custodial deaths in IIOJK has exceeded 7,000. The perpetrators of these crimes should be held accountable.”

She condemned the bombing of Israeli forces on a UN-run school, sheltering Palestinian refugees that led to multiple deaths – mostly women and children. “The deliberate targeting of civilian population and facilities is a grave violation of international law and constitutes war crimes,” she added.

Replying to a question, the Spokesperson said that Pakistan had received an invitation to attend an international conference on Gaza. “Decisions regarding Pakistan’s participation are under consideration and will be announced soon.”

Baloch told the media that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar would undertake a daylong visit to Istanbul to attend the extraordinary meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers on the situation in Gaza. Dar would present Pakistan’s stance on the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” she added.

Regarding Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ongoing visit to China, she said that both sides had signed 23 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to deepen bilateral cooperation in multiple areas, including infrastructure, industry, energy, agriculture, media, health, water, socioeconomic development.

During the talks, the two sides expressed unwavering support for each other’s core issues and reiterated their commitment to the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the timely completion of ongoing projects.

The spokesperson informed the media about the passing of the Tunisian Ambassador in Islamabad Borhene El Kamel, due to prolonged illness, and expressed condolences and sympathies with the Tunisian government the grieved family.