Alvi urges EU to take note of persecution of minorities in India

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said that Pakistan was committed to protect and promote human rights and ensure the strict enforcement of labour laws in the country.

He said that Pakistan had taken a number of legal and administrative measures to protect the children and minorities’ rights.The president made these remarks while talking to the visiting European Union (EU) Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, who called on him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Welcoming the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, he conveyed that Pakistan had made a lot of progress to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens.He expressed concern over the human rights abuses by India against the minorities, particularly in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and urged the EU to take note of the persecution of minorities by the Indian government.

The president added that India was involved in the genocide of Muslims, and in that regard, he referred to the massacre of Muslims in the state of Gujrat, which took place with the complicit of the Indian government.

He conveyed that the government was taking measures to ensure that human rights violations should not take place, besides protecting the rights of minorities and their religious sites.Eamon Gilmore said that Pakistan enjoyed a very special place in the region and EU had a very good partnership with Pakistan.

He appreciated the Government of Pakistan for hosting millions of refugees over a long period of time.He informed that the EU was addressing Islamophobia and taking measures to ensure that hatred was not encouraged.

The meeting was also attended by EU Ambassador to Pakistan, Androulla Kaminara. Later, Eamon Gilmore, European Union Special Representative for Human Rights called on General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at GHQ, says an ISPR press release.

During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, overall regional security situation including Afghanistan humanitarian situation and bilateral diplomatic relations with EU were discussed, COAS said that Pakistan values its relations with EU countries and we earnestly look forward to enhance mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interest.