ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan desires to enhance cooperation with the European countries in different spheres.
The foreign minister made the remarks at a luncheon hosted in honour of the European envoys at the Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday. He said that Pakistan and the European Union signed a strategic engagement plan in June 2019 to promote cooperation.
Qureshi said that Pakistan desires cordial relations with the neighbouring countries on the basis of equality. He added that India is endangering the regional peace and stability through its state terrorism.
He stated: “We have provided irrefutable evidence regarding Indian support to the terrorists.” He further added the EU DisinfoLab has unmasked the true face of India.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan has sincerely played its role in the Afghan peace process.
FM Qureshi said: “Pakistan has hosted the Afghan refugees over the last many decades and we want their dignified return to their homeland.”
Qureshi, while talking to United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al Zaabi separately on Wednesday, said that Pakistan accords paramount importance to its long-standing fraternal ties with the UAE.
The foreign minister termed Pakistan’s relationship with the UAE as a special one. He stressed that the relationship benefited from the warm sentiments between the leadership of the two countries, as well as the strong people-to-people linkages rooted in shared faith, values and culture. He acknowledged that the UAE and its leadership steadfastly stood by Pakistan in its times of need.
Recalling his successful visit to the UAE in December last year, Foreign Minister Qureshi underscored the importance of frequent high-level visits from both sides, to provide impetus towards deepening and diversifying bilateral relations.
The UAE ambassador also lauded the strong UAE-Pakistan relations and vowed to work towards further strengthening and diversifying them in all sectors for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples. He acknowledged the positive contribution made by Pakistani diaspora towards the progress and development of the UAE.
Separately, FM Qureshi, while talking to a group of Hindu community outside the Foreign Office (FO), said that Pakistan will raise the issue to get the remains of 11 Pakistani Hindus, who were killed in India, and for an impartial probe into the matter without any further delay at all levels.
The Hindu community, whose loved ones got killed in India under mysterious circumstances, had submitted their protest earlier at the Indian High Commission and later came to the FO. They were demanding the return of the remains of those who went to India for religious pilgrimage.
The foreign minister said that doubts are being created due to the dodgy responses by India as it is not willing to share any information. “But I wish to assure my Hindu community that Pakistan stands by them and will raise the issue at every international fora.”
He underscored the government of Pakistan has high respect for every human life and recalled how the Supreme Court (SC) immediately reacted to the attack on a Hindu place of worship. He stressed that the government immediately took action and all the culprits were arrested.
Qureshi maintained the Hindu community needs to rest assured that the government would pursue the genuine demand of the community.
He reiterated that India has been sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan and said it not only came to fore with the arrest of the Kalbhushan Jhadev and the recent disclosures by the EU DisInfo Lab which showed how fake media, fake NGOs and even fake parliamentarians were being used against Pakistan.
“The real face of India stands exposed,” Qureshi said.
He also pointed to the killing of the 40 of its military personnel in the fake Pulwama attack to launch a false flag operation against Pakistan, details of which were leaked by Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami.
Member of National Assembly (MNA) Ramesh Kumar, who is also the patron of Pakistan Hindu Council, said the minorities in Pakistan enjoy full protection and said that India must respect its responsibilities towards protection of foreign citizens visiting the country.
A female member of the Hindu community told the Foreign minister that the Indian government has filed a case against some planted people, who are not being persecuted. She said they have been running from pillar to post to get the remains of their loved ones.
Earlier on December 22, Pakistan in a letter addressed to the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (UNHCR) has demanded an investigation into the murders of 11 Pakistani Hindus in northwestern India.
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said that the UN should investigate the killings that took place in August in the Rajasthan state and ensure the payment of reparations to the families of the deceased.
In August last, a family of 11 Pakistani Hindus was found dead in a rented farmhouse in the city of Jodhpur in India’s Rajasthan state. According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, despite Islamabad’s repeated calls, the Indian government has still not released the necessary information on the deaths of the family members.
