ISLAMABAD - Foreign Office on Thursday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will share Pakistan’s perspective on Kashmir, region and the international issues in his virtual address the UN General Assembly session on Friday (today). Speaking at a weekly news briefing here, FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri Prime Minister will once again raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir dispute as he had been doing in the past.

In his wide-ranging address, Chaudhri said, the Prime Minister will also share Pakistan’s successful handling of COVID-19, his debt relief initiative for developing countries and Islamophobia. He said the ‘High Level Week’ and ‘General Debate’ of the 75th Session Assembly which commenced on September 22 will continue till September 29. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations has, for the first time convened world leaders in a virtual format.

The theme for the 75th General Debate is “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism – confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action.”

Chaudhri said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had already addressed a high-level virtual meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

The Foreign Minister, he said, commended the United Nations for its numerous accomplishments over the years to advance the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.

The FM, the spokesperson said, acknowledged, in particular, the important role played by the organization in facilitating decolonization, addressing the threats of climate change and helping to promote a vision of inclusive and sustainable development through the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The Foreign Minister called for the respect of the right to self-determination promised to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Palestine by the United Nations,” he added.

 

Responding to a question about the Jodhpur incident, the FO spokesperson said the Indian government had still not shared the requisite information regarding the death of 11 Pakistani Hindus in Jodhpur, India under mysterious circumstance.

 

He once again called upon the Indian government to provide the requisite information without further delay and carry out a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the matter and share its findings with Pakistan immediately.

 

Regarding baseless story in Indian media about reforms in Gilgit-Baltistan, the spokesperson said reforms in GB were an ongoing process which included political, administrative and economic reforms based on the long-standing demands of the people of the area.

 

He said such reforms will continue in line with the needs of the people of Gilgit Baltistan, and not in wake of India’s illegal unilateral actions of August 5, 2019.

 

Chaudhri said as for the Line of Control part of the fictional story by the Indian media, Pakistan’s position remained clear and consistent.

 

He said a final resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute lies in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Kashmir, determined through a free and fair plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations. “There can be no change in this principled position,” he maintained.

 

To a question, Chaudhri said there was no presence of Al-Qaida or any of its organized remnants in Pakistan. He said during the war against terrorism, Pakistan undertook thousands of security operations against Al-Qaida.

 

As a result of these security operations, he said, Al-Qaida had been eliminated from Pakistan, a fact which was also recognized by the international community.

 

He called for a transparent judicial inquiry, under international scrutiny, into the extra-judicial killing of three Kashmiris in held Kashmir on July 18.

 

“Three young Kashmiri boys, who had come to Shopian to work as labourers in apple orchards, were extra judicially killed by Indian occupation forces on 18 July 2020.  To cover up the “cold blooded” murder of these innocent Kashmiris, the Indian occupation army had claimed that the three were “unidentified terrorists,” the spokesperson said.

 

He said instead of handing over the human remains to the families of the victims, the Indian occupation forces had buried them in a graveyard marked for “foreign terrorists.”

 

“Now, two months after the reprehensible incident, on 18 September 2020, the Indian occupation Army, through a statement, admitted that the three innocent Kashmiri labourers were killed extra-judicially - a hallmark of Indian occupation forces’ state-terrorism in held Kashmir,” he added.

 

He said Pakistan “strongly rejects and denounces the Indian occupation army’s statement, indicating disciplinary proceedings against the officials for the crime. India must realize that it cannot cover-up such heinous crimes of the occupation army through disciplinary proceedings.”

 

He said neither the Kashmiri people nor Pakistan or the international community will accept such farcical proceedings.

 

Chaudhri said at the request of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the members of the OIC Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir met for an informal meeting in New York.

 

“The Contact Group reviewed recent developments relating to Jammu and Kashmir, including the grave human rights and humanitarian situation in held Kashmir and escalation in tensions along the Line of Control,” he said. The spokesperson said Pakistan deeply appreciated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for once again raising his voice in support of the rights of Kashmiri people during his address at the UN General Assembly.