pakistan

Bilawal says India abusing G20 presidency with Kashmir meet

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12 months ago

May 23, 2023

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Bilawal says India abusing G20 presidency with Kashmir meet

India is abusing its presidency of the G20 by holding a tourism conference in the portion of disputed Kashmir it controls, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told AFP.

It is the first diplomatic event in the territory since Pakistan suspended trade and diplomatic ties with India in 2019, when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the part of Muslim-majority Kashmir it controls and enforced a heavy security lockdown.

“I wish I could say I was surprised, but I think that this is a continuation in what is becoming a norm now, of India’s arrogance on the international stage,” he told AFP in an interview in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir.

“They’re abusing their presidency of the G20 to push their colonial agenda, but if they think that by holding one event in occupied Kashmir they can silence the voice of the Kashmiri people, then I believe that they are truly mistaken.”

The Indian-controlled portion has been roiled for decades by a freedom movement seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, with tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and Kashmiri fighters killed in the conflict.

Non-G20 member Pakistan controls a smaller part, and says holding the tourism meeting from Monday to Wednesday in the territory violates international law, UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.

The G20 participants — made up of the European Union and the world’s 19 top economies — have been “put in a pretty awkward spot”, said the 34-year-old Bhutto-Zardari.

“Those countries who make it a point to remind us and protest how outrageous it is that international law has been violated in Europe: I believe that they should be just as outraged when international law is violated in Kashmir,” he said, in a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China, which also claims the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in full as part of Tibet, has stood by Pakistan in condemning the meeting to promote tourism in the area — renowned for its lakes, meadows and snow-capped mountains.

Muslim nations Saudi Arabia and Turkey are not sending government representation, while some Western countries have scaled back their presence, according to reports.
India is attempting to portray what officials have called “normalcy and peace” in the violence-wracked region by inviting the international community to a sprawling, well-guarded venue on the shores of Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Over the past week, residents have chafed under stepped-up security measures. Hundreds have been detained in police stations and thousands including shopkeepers have received calls from officials warning them against any “signs of protest or trouble”.

“One of the most militarised zones in the world can never be seen as normal,” said Bhutto-Zardari. The South Asian neighbours have fought three wars since they were created at the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.

Since India’s 2019 constitutional changes, freedom fighters in Kashmir have largely been crushed — although young men continue to join the freedom struggle.
Dissent has been criminalised, media freedoms curbed and public protests limited, in what critics say is a drastic curtailment of civil liberties by India.

The Pakistani foreign minister ruled out any chance of a warming of ties between the two countries unless New Delhi revoked the change in status of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“Until this topic is addressed, it really stands in the way of peace in all of South Asia,” said Bhutto-Zardari — the son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the grandson of deposed and executed former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Without it, no “meaningful dialogue” could begin on shared threats including militancy and worsening climate change.

The crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir was ordered by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who since coming to power in 2014 has increasingly used religious polarisation to mobilise the Hindu majority. Next year, he will seek a third term in power at elections. “We are patient people,” said Bhutto-Zardari.

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pakistan

NA Secretariat accepts inclusion of independent members in SIC

Published

17 hours ago

May 2, 2024

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NA Secretariat accepts inclusion of independent members in SIC

he National Assembly Secretariat has accepted the inclusion of independent members (PTI-backed MNAs) in the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Dunya News reported.

The National Assembly Secretariat has released a list of 83 members of Sunni Ittehad Council on its official website after the approval of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

After the inclusion of independent members, Sunni Ittehad Council has become second largest party in the lower house of the parliament with 83 members.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had sent a notification regarding the inclusion of independent members in the SIC to the National Assembly Secretariat.

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pakistan

Pakistan urges UN to reconsider Palestine’s full membership bid amid US veto

Published

17 hours ago

May 2, 2024

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Pakistan urges UN to reconsider Palestine's full membership bid amid US veto

Pakistan has called on the United Nations General Assembly to push the Security Council to reconsider and recommend Palestine’s application for full membership of the UN to rectify the historic injustice against the Palestinian people.

“The admission of the state of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations would constitute a concrete political step towards the two-state solution and towards rectifying the historic injustice against the Palestinian people,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in a meeting sparked by a US veto, which blocked an Algerian resolution on 18 April that would have granted Palestine UN’s membership.

The meeting was necessitated by “the veto initiative” — the informal name for a resolution adopted by the Assembly in April 2022, titled “Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council.”

According to the measure, which was put forth following the repeated wielding of the veto at the Council, blocking action on other situations, the General Assembly has a standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Council.

Palestine is a ‘Permanent Observer State” at the UN, meaning that it can participate in all UN proceedings, except for voting on draft resolutions and decisions in its main organs and bodies.

In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy said, “The veto cast against Palestine’s admission erodes the credibility of the assurances that have been held out of support for the two-state solution.”

“The diplomacy now underway for peace in Palestine, in Israel and the region would gain considerable momentum if the veto was lifted and Palestine’s admission to the United Nations recommended by the Security Council.”

Ambassador Akram appealed to the United Nations and the international community at large to enforce an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; guarantee unrestricted access to humanitarian aid; prevent further escalation of the conflict; provide international protection for the Palestinians; revive the peace process and hold Israel responsible for its war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Now, the extremist Israeli leadership is threatening an assault on Rafah which, as the UN Secretary-General has stated, ‘would be an unbearable escalation’, would have a devastating impact on the Palestinians in Gaza, with serious repressions on the occupied West,” he said.

Ambassador Akram highlighted the plight of the Palestinian people over the past seven decades, including the denial of self-determination, expulsion from their homeland, and enduring a prolonged and brutal foreign occupation.

The Pakistani envoy condemned Israel for its recent war crimes in Gaza, which had resulted in the deaths of over 35,000 Palestinian civilians, indiscriminate bombing, and the blockade of humanitarian aid, which the International Court of Justice has deemed as “plausible genocide.”

Ambassador Akram also hit back at the Israeli representative for making wild accusations against Islamic countries.

“Let me tell the Israeli representative that the outlawed Israeli regime cannot divert attention from its crimes by leveling calumny against the Islamic countries,” he said, adding, “Pakistan, unlike Israel, acts in accordance with international law.”

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pakistan

PM Shehbaz saddened by passing of UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed

Published

17 hours ago

May 2, 2024

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PM Shehbaz saddened by passing of UAE's Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences on Thursday following the passing of Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, the representative of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Al Ain.

“Deeply saddened by the demise of His Highness Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed Al Nahyan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the leadership and people of the UAE during this time of mourning,” the prime minister shared on his X timeline.

He emphasised Sheikh Tahnoun’s significant role in strengthening the bond between Pakistan and the UAE, stating that his contributions would be remembered for years to come.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also offered prayers for the departed soul, asking Allah Almighty to grant Sheikh Tahnoun eternal peace.

Born in 1942, Tahnoun was among the select individuals who had accompanied Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s founding father, since an early age.

In response to his passing, the UAE government declared a seven-day mourning period

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