By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday that India is trying to politicize the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to malign and target Pakistan.
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch made the remarks during the weekly media briefing, where she touched upon several topics, including Indian human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto’s ongoing visit to the United States.
The spokesperson said that India had politicized the FATF process for several years to prevent Pakistan’s exit from the Grey List and is following a similar agenda at the UNSC – of which New Delhi is currently a non-permanent member.
“For a country that has a grandiose vision about itself and its place in the world, India has been unable to act as a responsible member of the international community that can assume new privileges that it aspires,” She said adding that “India masquerades itself as a victim of terrorism, yet it is itself a perpetrator of repression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and a sponsor and financier of terrorist groups in South Asia, including Pakistan.”
Indian Atrocities in IIOJK
The spokesperson said, “We are concerned about the rise of extremist nationalism in India and its expansionist designs for the region. We still await condemnation from the Indian leadership on the recent call for violence and assassination by a BJP leader from Bhagpat.”
While raising the issue of Indian state-terrorism in the IIOJK, she said that India continues with its policy of coercion and intimidation of the Kashmiri people. She said that Indian forces killed three Kashmiri youth in fake encounter in Shopian district in IIOJK this week.
The spokesperson called for holding India accountable for the grave injustices it had committed. The only way to lasting peace in South Asia is by granting the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions
Foreign Minister’s Visit to US
While speaking on Foreign Minister Bhutto’s visit to the US, which concludes today, Baloch said the visit was another important step towards further strengthening Pakistan’s broad-based bilateral ties with the US.
She said that the foreign minister chaired the Ministerial Conference of the G-77 and China on 15-16 December 2022, adding that the conference was convened by Pakistan in its capacity as the Chair of the G-77, the largest bloc of developing countries within the UN system. She said that the foreign minister highlighted the need for a multilateral mechanism for sustainable management of the sovereign debt of developing countries and for lowering of borrowing costs for them.
The spokesperson said that on December 16 the foreign minister met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. They discussed the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan and international support for Pakistan’s long-term recovery, rehabilitation and restoration based on the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). Foreign Minister also met with UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed and President of the UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi.
She added that the foreign minister’s visit also included engagements with the administration and members of the US Congress, talks at two prestigious think-tanks, interaction with Pakistani-American community leaders and Washington DC’s think-tank community, as well as interviews with leading media outlets.
