ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that India’s belligerence poses a serious threat to peace and security in the region.
Addressing the virtual meeting of Conservative Friends of Pakistan, the foreign minister said that he has written a number of letters to the UN secretary-general and the president of the Security Council on the Indian posture.
Referring to Indian blatant human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), Qureshi said that on the August 5 last year, New Delhi illegally and unilaterally attempted to alter the disputed status of the territory in clear violations of international laws.
He said that India has deployed additional troops in the area which is already the most militarized zone in the world. Kashmir leaders are incarcerated whilst extrajudicial killings of innocent young Kashmiri are tactics used to break the will of the people fighting for their right to self-determination, he added. He further said that facts are well documented in reports of human rights organisations.
The foreign minister said that India should be pressurised to stop human rights violations in the occupied territory and move towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
He said that the commencement of intra-afghan dialogue is a significant and positive development for regional peace. He also said that Pakistan has facilitated the US-Taliban peace agreement signed in Doha early this year.
On the domestic front, Qureshi said that the things have started improving due to the structural reforms initiated by the present government regardless of the challenge posed by Covid-19. He said, “We have recorded current account plus for the first time in many years whilst other economic indicators are also showing improvement. Our domestic tax collection has increased by thirty percent. The remittances for the first time crossed $20 billion. The confidence of investors is improving as a result of our policies.”
Regarding bilateral relations with the UK, the foreign minister said both the countries are in agreement to further build on the excellent relationship. He said, “We need to look at new areas of cooperation.”
