Qureshi discusses Palestine, Kashmir with UN chief

UNITED NATIONS: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and discussed the grave situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and also gave him an update on developments in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the special session of the UN General Assembly on Palestine that was held on Thursday. Qureshi was in New York as part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to mobilise international support for the Palestinians.

According to the Foreign Office, during the meeting, the foreign minister conveyed the “strong sense of outrage” on behalf of the entire Pakistani nation over Israel’s use of indiscriminate and disproportionate force against the Palestinians, resulting in the loss of numerous lives, including dozens of women and children.

He also called for ensuring protection of Palestinian civilians, allowing humanitarian access to the occupied Palestinian territories and initiating an emergency UN humanitarian assistance plan for the Palestinians. The foreign minister stressed that peace in the region can only be achieved through the realisation of a two-state solution and through the establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The foreign minister also briefed the UN chief on the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in held Kashmir, including continuing extrajudicial killings.

He conveyed Pakistan’s deep concern at the continued incarceration of Kashmiri political leaders in crowded conditions despite the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the death of prominent Kashmiri leader Ashraf Sehrai in Indian custody.

He urged Guterres to use his good offices and mediation to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, including by calling on India to rescind its illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, and to allow the Kashmiris to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN resolutions.

The minister also reiterated Pakistan’s call for further strengthening the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, which monitors the ceasefire line in the disputed region.

Furthermore, Qureshi highlighted Pakistan’s constructive efforts to facilitate the Afghan peace process, and expressed the hope that the Afghan parties would seize the opportunity and reach an inclusive, politically-negotiated settlement, resulting in lasting peace and security in Afghanistan.

Expressing deep concern at the rising tide of intolerance, discrimination, violence and Islamophobia against Muslims, he urged the need for the relevant UN bodies to address this challenge, as well as to take effective measures against the threat posed by violent nationalist, supremacist, far right and extreme right wing terrorist groups and ideologies.