Supporting, facilitating Afghan peace process: UNGA president lauds Pakistan's role

With reference to human rights violations in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, UN General Assembly president Maria Fernanda Espinosa has emphasised that every member of United Nations has responsibility to respect and guarantee fundamental rights of the people. The visiting president of UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa was speaking at a joint press talk to the state-run media along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after their meeting at the Foreign Office here on Friday.
Responding a question if she as president of the UNGA could play any role in halting the human rights violations in IoK, Espinosa pointed out that the Charter is built on three pillars - peace & security, development, and human rights. "It is responsibility of all members in every corner of the planet to respect and guarantee the fundamental rights and the dignity of the people... these are the principles by which we, the United Nations, stand," she added.
She also appreciated Pakistan's active and vibrant role in the realization of the United Nations goals, adding that Pakistan has conformity of views with many shared goals of the UN. About her discussions with Foreign Minister Qureshi, she said among other topics, the global compact for migration and the global compact on refugees came under discussions during the meeting.
She appreciated Pakistan for hosting a large number of Afghan refugees over all these years. "Pakistan needs to be congratulated for its generosity in hosting millions of Afghan refugees in this country," she said, adding that hosting refugees is a very important burden on the fiscal architecture of a country and requires a lot of investment and resources. She further said the countries having the generosity of hosting refugees should be compensated, acknowledged and recognised.
The visiting UNGA president also appreciated Pakistan's role in supporting and facilitating the Afghan peace process, adding that a prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan would benefit the entire region. Acknowledging the importance of youth in Pakistan, she said the UN will support and assist the steps taken by the government to utilise the potential of the large segment of society, including through education and training and creation of job opportunities.
She also lauded the 'Billion Tree Tsunami' project of the PTI government, hoping it would turn the country into greener area with sustainable development, adding that Pakistan is among the countries more affected by the climate change. Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister Qureshi emphasised that the UN has an important responsibility to play its crucial role in halting the worst human rights violations in the IoK.
The minister said Pakistan welcomes the recommendations of UN human rights council especially with regard to setting up a commission of inquiry to probe into the human rights violations in Kashmir. "Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute and the UN has on its agenda various resolutions of the Security Council. We believe that UN also has a responsibility to play its role in making progress on these resolutions," Qureshi asserted.
Referring to the continued ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) by Indian forces, Qureshi warned that increasing number of ceasefire violations and increasing Indian arms across the border, believed to be a 'flash point,' need to be addressed, adding that Pakistan is peaceful country and it wants to live in peace with its neighbours.
The foreign minister further said they had a very constructive meeting during which the issue of human rights abuses in the IoK was also effectively highlighted. He said the visiting dignitary was informed of the grave extent of violations by Indian forces in the Held Valley.
He said the UNGA president was informed that Pakistan has been hosting more than 3 million Afghan refugees for the last four decades, adding that Pakistan is also actively engaged with Afghanistan for a long and durable solution to the Afghan conflict as it believes peace in the neighbouring country is also in its own best interest. He said Pakistan believes in Afghan-led and Afghan owned peace process.
Qureshi said he also discussed with the UNGA president the steps taken by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change, adding that the government has embarked upon a plan to plant 10 billions trees in the country in next five years to make it greener and environment friendly.
He said UNGA president was informed that a number of laws have been passed in recent years to protect the rights of women and raise their socio-economic profile in line with the sustainable development goals.
The foreign minister said the role of international peacekeeping by Pakistani troops was also shared with the UNGA president, adding that Pakistan is among the top troop contributors and its armed personnel have rendered huge sacrifices in peacekeeping operations around the world. In a press release issued after the meeting, the Foreign Office said this was the first official engagement of visiting dignitary since her arrival in the country.